


Pepper's Wedding

by LagLemon



Series: Steve Rogers Is A Child [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Abuse, Anxiety, F/M, Honeymoons, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Stress, Weddings, reference to brainwashing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-20
Updated: 2015-03-06
Packaged: 2018-03-08 08:51:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 41,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3203231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LagLemon/pseuds/LagLemon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The day of Pepper's Wedding has finally arrived!   Tony just hopes things won't go horribly wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you spot anything funky and I'll fix it! I hope you enjoy! :D

Tony sighed in despair and went back to picking lint off of the suit Pepper had sent him. She wanted him to wear it to the wedding, and it was, perhaps, the single most hideous suit he had ever seen; sea-foam green was the _ugliest_ fucking colour. Happy would definitely not be outshined today. He wondered if anyone else at the wedding would be wearing suits that looked like they had been stolen from an eighties under-the-sea prom.

Steve yawned, and tried belatedly to stifle it with his arm. He was lying in their bed, curled up in a ball under the blankets. Tony had only gotten up because he had heard the alarm go off for the fifteenth time that morning; he hadn’t wanted to leave a warm bed and an even warmer, more delectable Steve, but that was the cost of getting ready for a wedding. Things like that took time, and he had, this time, understood just how much time was needed to get ready to leave. Steve, on the other hand, had refused to get up and vacate the warm blankets. Tony hadn’t blamed him, but he knew better than to let Steve continue to procrastinate.

“Are you going to get up now sweetheart?” Tony asked, cracking a smile. He looked Steve over, pleased with what he saw. Steve looked delightfully rumpled today. His bangs were squashed flat against his head and the hair on the side of his head was sticking up like a golden wave.

Steve squinted at Tony and burrowed deeper under the blankets as though they might protect him from the morning. “Are you sure you don’t want to just come back to bed?” he asked, his voice muffled by the plush bedding.

“I would _love_ to come back to bed,” Tony drawled, setting his hideous suit back down on the chair it had been left on the night before, “but I think if I did crawl back in there, Pepper would appear out of nowhere and kill me.”

“I don’t want to go,” Steve grumbled.

Tony sat down on the edge of the bed, smiling softly. He knew how anxious Steve was at the mere notion of being out at the wedding – that had been their main discussion of the evening. “Are you still worried that you’ll look like a stick of celery?” he asked.

Steve let out a snort. “You think I _won’t_?”

“You’ll look fine, Steve,” Tony said, patting the lump under the blankets. “It sucks, but we’re going to have to suck it up for Pepper’s sake. Come on. We’ve got to get ready to go. We have to shower and then go get breakfast. It’s going to be a long day.”

“I don’t want to go,” Steve grumbled again. He rolled over and emerged from under the blankets slowly, blinking back sleep. He was naked, and he didn’t appear to want to look at himself too closely; he wrapped a sheet around his middle and tactfully folded the fabric over his groin.

“I know you don’t want to go and I’m sorry, honey, I wish we didn’t have to head out,” Tony said, softly. He ran his fingers through Steve’s unruly hair. “But Pepper would be really sad if you didn’t show up. You know she loves seeing you around and it’s her special day.”

Steve hung his head and scowled.

“I know, I know,” Tony said. “I’m guilt-tripping you. How about some bribery instead then?” He cupped Steve’s chin in his hands and kissed him soundly.

Steve’s hands came up, his fingers curling in Tony’s hair. He kissed Tony back, sinking into the embrace s though he needed it to breathe; he dropped the sheet and let it pool around his legs, seemingly forgetting about it.

Tony pulled away first. He ran his thumb over Steve’s shiny, pink, lower lip and grinned. “When we get back, we can have a honeymoon of our own,” he promised, his voice breathless. Despite having been back at the tower for a few days now, they hadn’t been able to find time to be alone. Bucky and the other Avengers had been in and out of the penthouse almost non-stop, and what little time they didn’t occupy, Pepper and Happy had taken up. Tony had known better than to complain about the lack of privacy. The wedding was far more important than sex – even if he really, _really_ wanted it.

Steve let out an irritated groan and rolled backwards onto the bed, curling in the sheet. “You _suck_.”

“Not until later,” Tony said, standing up. He hoisted Steve up, gently pulling the sheet out from under him and headed towards the bathroom with his boyfriend slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Steve kicked his legs out, thumping Tony softly in the back with his fists. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he laughed. “Jerk!”

“Aww, don’t be that way sugarplum,” Tony purred, patting Steve’s bare ass. “I know you love me.”

Steve let out a soft sound. “Hey,” he said, clearing his throat.

“Oh, did I do something you like?” Tony asked, smirking. He gave Steve’s ass another gentle pat, and then thought, what the hell and cupped Steve’s left buttcheek in his hand, giving it a _firm_ squeeze.

Steve let out a throaty growl and pressed his groin harder against Tony’s back, letting Tony feel just how much the touch had done to him.

“Shower time,” Tony sang out, his voice cracking. He closed the bathroom door with his foot and carried Steve over to the fluffy bath mat before setting him down.

Steve was on Tony in an instant. He tugged at Tony’s sleep pants, working them down to Tony’s knees with a single yank. “You’d better be showering too,” he grumbled, his fingers tangling in the elastic waistband of Tony’s briefs.

Tony grinned and pulled his shirt up over his head and wrinkled his nose. “Of course I am,” he said. “I can’t go around smelling like _you_ all day – as delightful as that is, I’m pretty sure Rhodey would notice and drown me in a punch bowl.”

Steve chuckled and tugged Tony’s briefs down. He let his fingers linger on Tony’s hips, trailing his way down Tony’s upper thigh. He took a moment to dig his nails in, leaving pink patches in his wake and smirked up at Tony.

Tony shivered and spread his legs a little, offering Steve something else he could manhandle.

Steve didn’t take the bait. He stepped away and into the shower, flashing Tony a smile over his shoulder.

Tony scowled. “And you say _I’m_ the jerk,” he muttered.

Jarvis turned the shower on to a light mist without prompting. Steve stepped under the showerhead; the look on his face told Tony just how much he was enjoying the hot water. He looked like he was about to melt into a puddle.

Tony stepped into the shower, clearing his throat. He eased himself up behind Steve, blinking slowly in the warm mist. “Alright, alright. I’m sorry. No more picking up Steve without permission – I got it this time I swear,” he said.

Steve leaned back as Tony wrapped his arms around him from behind, resting his hands on top Tony’s. He rubbed the pads of his fingers over Tony’s callouses, humming softly. “Fine,” he said with a weary sigh. “I suppose I’ve been convinced to go with you.”

“Good,” Tony chuckled. He pressed a kiss to the top of Steve’s head.

“I mean,” Steve drawled, turning in Tony’s grasp until they were groin to groin. “I might need a little bit more _convincing_.” He rolled his hips forwards, pressing himself against Tony with a soft sigh. “I don’t mind when you manhandle me, you know that. It’s kind of hot that you’d want to.”

Tony slid his hands down Steve’s wet body, letting his hands linger on Steve’s lower thighs. “Who wouldn’t want to manhandle you?” he said, his voice husky. “You’re perfect.” He cleared his throat and batted his eyelashes at Steve, leaning in a little so he could whisper in Steve’s ear. “You know, we’re in the shower – we wouldn’t even have to clean up if you wanted a preview of what’s to come.”

Steve grinned. “I think I could work with that,” he said. He leaned up; Tony leaned down.

They were about to kiss when the water abruptly turned icy cold.

Yelping, they broke apart, pressing themselves against the shower stall walls.

“What the hell, Jarvis!” Tony growled.

“My apologies, sir,” Jarvis said, not sounding the least bit sorry. “But you instructed me to keep the, and I quote, ‘fooling around’ to a minimum this morning.”

Tony groaned. He wiped the misted water from his face. “Alright, alright. Bring the heat back. We’ll behave,” he said, sourly.

They stepped back under the showerhead once the water was hot again and stood pressed together; Tony wrapped his arms around Steve, rubbing gentle circles on Steve’s lower back. “Sorry, honey,” he mumbled.

“It’s ok,” Steve said. He rested his face against Tony’s chest for a moment before turning around again in Tony’s grasp, reaching for the bodywash. He held the bottle up. “We can’t fool around, but we can still do some things,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.

Tony smirked. “I like how you think,” he said.

“Sir,” Jarvis said.

Tony scowled. “What is it now?”

Steve opened up the bodywash and started lathering it all over Tony’s chest.

“Might I remind you that there is a hands above waist policy in place as well?” Jarvis said.

Tony groaned louder. He leaned forwards, smearing his foam covered body against Steve, who let out a shrill laugh and slapped at him with foam-covered hands, spraying them both with bubbles.

“I get it Jarvis. Right, hands above the waist. I remember,” Tony said. “No need to bring back the cold water. We’ll behave, I promise. Christ, I feel like a cat that’s tried to claw the couch.”

“When did you put that all of these rules into effect?” Steve asked, smearing bodywash on Tony’s arms.

Tony poured a handful of bodywash onto his palms and lathered them up. He tackled Steve’s shoulders first, tracing his way along Steve’s sharp shoulder blades. Steve shivered under his touch and paused, his palms pressed flat against Tony’s hipbones, hovering just above waistline.

“I didn’t order it,” Tony grumbled, planting a wet kiss onto Steve’s hair. “I joked about it and _Natasha_ ordered it.”

“I see,” Steve said. He rubbed lazy circles on Tony’s lower back. “So _that’s_ who I have to kill.”

Tony let out a snort. “Yeah,” he said, smearing foam down to Steve’s navel. “Somehow I think she’ll win if you try it.”

“You don’t know that,” Steve said. He took Tony’s left bicep in his hands and slathered it with foam. He flashed Tony a smarmy grin. “She says my puppy-dog eyes are evil.”

“That’s because they are,” Tony chuckled. He sighed, trying not to stare intently at Steve’s lower body. He knew there would be time to move their relationship further; it wasn’t like they were going to have to wait until the end of time itself. They weren’t planning on sticking around after the wedding was over. There were plans already in place. They had their bags already packed; the Beach House was calling them back, and _this_ time, Tony intended to leave before Bucky could make plans to come with them. Yes, Pepper and Happy would be there on the beach too, but they’d be their private Beach House and considering it was their Honeymoon, Tony didn’t expect to see much of them. He sighed to himself, absently stroking Steve’s back while Steve hung off of his other bicep. Bucky wasn’t causing problems intentionally – or at least Tony didn’t think he was – but he was still getting in the way regardless. If it continued, they were going to have another _talk_ , no matter how unpleasant that might be. That, or he was going to have to kidnap Steve and take him somewhere Bucky didn’t know about. That option was looking far more promising.

“Tony?” Steve murmured. He went up on the tips of his toes, and buried his nose in Tony’s throat. “We can still fool around a _little_ bit, right?”

Jarvis turned the cold water on.

Tony let out a squeal and spun around, protecting Steve from the cold mist.

Steve shivered against him. “Never mind! Never mind! Oh god, make it stop!”

“Alright, alright! We get the point! I’ll get out of the shower in a second,” Tony yelped as the water temperature returned to normal.

“That would be much appreciated, sir,” Jarvis said. “Mrs. Potts has informed me that you are both to use shampoo and conditioner. She has told me to remind you that you are to look good in her wedding pictures, or there will be hell to pay.”

“Great,” Tony muttered. He let the hot water dribble down his back for a moment before letting Steve go in order to scoop up the bottle of shampoo. “Tell Pepper she’s _mean_ ,” he said, squirting a handful of shampoo into his palm. He rubbed it into Steve’s hair and then squirted out another handful and tackled his own hair.

“Mrs. Potts has informed me that she already knows,” Jarvis said.

 

 

Tony stepped out of the shower, leaving Steve to behind to finish washing up. Steve made to move and follow him, but he gently nudged Steve back under the warm water. He didn’t want to find out what Jarvis would do if they couldn’t keep their hands to themselves when _outside_ the shower; he suspected that the air conditioning would turn on and they would be frozen yet again. His dick had been cold enough this morning – he had no intention of repeating that mistake.

With his towel wrapped around his waist, Tony sauntered back to his bedroom, planning on setting out Steve’s suit so they could get dressed together. Unfortunately, he now had company. Bucky was sitting on the edge of the bed, still wearing his Iron Man pajamas, his hair tangled and greasy from sleep; the skin around his eyes was purplish, and he looked paler than usual. Tony hoped that he wasn’t sick, because the last thing Pepper’s wedding needed was everyone to start puking and fainting from the flu.

“I didn’t think you guys would be up this early,” Bucky said with a yawn.

Tony held in a sigh. “Yeah, we promised Pepper we’d be up and ready to go by noon. The ceremony’s at two,” he said, heading over to his dresser to fish out a clean pair of briefs. He hesitated fleetingly and then let the towel drop, pulling his underwear on one leg at a time. It wasn’t like Bucky hadn’t seen him naked before, after all, and despite the fact that Bucky liked him, he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to find Bucky drooling when he turned around.

Bucky averted his eyes and flopped backwards onto the bed, curling in the blankets in a way that reminded Tony of Steve. He couldn’t help smiling at the sight.

“You having trouble sleeping again?” Tony asked, grabbing a pair of pristine white socks. He sat down on the edge of the bed beside Bucky and tugged them on, mindful fabric. He didn’t think Pepper would be spot-checking socks, but he didn’t want to risk it.

“Something like that,” Bucky muttered. He rubbed at his sweaty forehead. “Do I _really_ have to go to this wedding thing? I don’t even know Pepper all that well.”

“If you don’t go, I’m pretty sure you’re going to get to know her _fist_ pretty well,” Tony chuckled. He patted Bucky’s calf. “Go shower and get dressed before Natasha comes in here and yells at you. She’s taking being the Maid of Honor very seriously.”

“I’m not going,” Bucky muttered darkly.

“Don’t make me drag you into the shower,” Tony grumbled. “Seriously – why am I the only one responsible today? I feel like I’m sharing Pepper’s brain and I don’t like it. It’s too mature – too well organized.”

“You’d be willing to drag me into the shower?” Bucky asked, grinning broadly. He rolled over and stared at Tony with heavy lidded eyes. “ _Really_?”

“I will strip you and scrub you down myself if I have to,” Tony growled. He squinted down at Bucky. “I swear to god I’ll do it.”

“Oh?” Bucky laughed.

“Believe me – it’s not going to be fun for _anyone_ involved,” Tony said.

“Hm, well now I’m sort of wanting to see what you’ll do if I don’t get up,” Bucky hummed softly.

Steve cleared his throat from the doorway. His towel was wrapped multiple times around his waist, and while he was smiling, it looked strained. “If you want to shower, you’d better have one pretty soon,” he said, walking over to the dresser where his underwear was stored in neatly folded squares. He pulled the drawer open, accidentally dropping the towel and flashed both Tony and Bucky his bare ass.

Tony wolf-whistled.

Bucky grumbled and rolled over again, facing the wall. “I think I’m good. I’m not going anyway.”

“You have to go,” Steve said, fighting with the towel. He gave up on it when it refused to stay in place and struggled his way into his briefs. “Come on, Bucky. It’ll be fun.”

Bucky let out a long, weary sigh. “We both know that’s a lie but fine,” he said, sitting up with a huff. “But I’m using _your_ shower.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Fine, but do me a favor, alright? Stop tormenting Tony for the rest of today, will you? He’s got enough to worry about without you making goo-goo eyes at him every ten minutes because you think it’ll be funny to watch him snap.”

Bucky scowled sourly. “You’re taking all the fun out of this,” he said.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Steve chuckled. “You two can go back to bugging each other later – when Pepper isn’t threatening to kill us all.”

“Spoilsport,” Bucky grumbled.

Tony sighed and put his face in his hands.

Steve rested a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Hey,” he said, pressing a kiss to Tony’s forehead. “Let’s get dressed.”

“I want to rip out my hair,” Tony grumbled. “Why is he in _our_ shower?”

“He just wants to tease you,” Steve said, stroking the side of Tony’s face. “I’ll make it up to you, alright? We’ve got plenty of time alone after today. I promise. I’ll make it up to you.”

“You’d better,” Tony groused.

“Get dressed,” Steve said. “I’ll meet you out there.”

Grumbling the entire time, Tony complied.

 

 

 

Tony found Natasha sitting at the breakfast bar, already dressed in her pastel blue bridesmaid dress. She had half a sheet thrown over her chest and was using it to keep from getting coffee and oatmeal all over her dress. When she saw Tony, she pulled a pile of sheets out from under the breakfast bar and handed him one.

“Thanks,” Tony said, donning his impromptu bib. He managed to poke himself in the eye only once and would have cheered about it if he hadn’t been so damn drained of energy.

“That’s one _ugly_ fucking suit,” Natasha said, looking Tony over.

“That’s one _ugly_ fucking dress,” Tony grunted in return.

Natasha smiled. “It could be worse,” she said. She looked down at her oatmeal and let out a tired hiss of displeasure. “This is going to be a long day.”

“You didn’t want to get up today either, huh?” Tony said. He stalked over to the counter with the sheet hanging majestically over his shoulder and pulled a box of cereal towards him. He debated on having sugary frosted flakes for a few moments before reaching for the plain cheerios. Better to be awake than to fall asleep during the wedding because of a sugar low.

“I didn’t but it was inevitable. You’re going to want something more filling than that,” Natasha advised when she caught sight of the cheerios. She stared down at her oatmeal and took another bite with a look of grim determination on her face. If Tony hadn’t known better, he might have thought she was eating broken glass.

“I was wondering why you were eating that,” Tony said, pushing the cereal box away. “You hate oatmeal.”

“I hate a lot of things,” Natasha grumbled. “Speaking of things I hate – do me a favor.” She lifted her leg up, flashing Tony far more of her than he was used to seeing. “Fix the dress lining, will you? It keeps riding up, and I don’t have the patience to fix it myself.”

“Why the hell do I have to do this,” Tony said. He tossed his bib-sheet onto the back of his chair and knelt down beside Natasha’s chair, wondering how likely it was he would survive the favor. “How is this my job again?” he asked.

“It’s your job because you’re the backup Maid of Honor,” Natasha said. She lifted her leg higher, revealing the crotch of her pale, pink, panties. “If you look or touch anything that isn’t my dress, I’m going break all of your fingers after the wedding.”

“Gee,” Tony muttered, leaning forwards, “You’re making this so much easier.”

Natasha snorted and let go of her dress; it dropped down on top of Tony’s head, engulfing him in taffeta and muslin.

“How is this helpful?” Tony asked, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the new light.

“My ass was cold,” Natasha said. “It’s helpful to me.”

“Right,” Tony sighed.

“I felt that,” Natasha growled dangerously.

“I didn’t even _do_ anything!” Tony said.

“You _breathed_ ,” Natasha said.

“I kind of _have_ to breathe,” Tony sighed again.

“Well, stop it,” Natasha said.

“I’ll try,” Tony said. He shifted his head, lifting the taffeta up so he could see the innards of the dress. There, curled and twisted, was a hemline that just wouldn’t sit flat. He wiggled his fingers and got to work, easing the fabric to the left. When it didn’t untangle immediately, he began to fight with it as gently as possible.

Someone cleared their throat loudly from outside of Tony’s dress-bubble.

Tony sighed louder. _Now_ who the hell was it? Was someone going to ask him to iron their pants too?

Natasha swatted Tony’s shoulder, finding it easily even though it was hidden by the bulk of her dress. “I said, stop doing that,” she grumbled.

“And I said it’s impossible to stop _breathing_ ,” Tony said.

“Fine. Stop _sighing_ then,” Natasha said. “Good morning, Steve. You look nice.”

Tony straightened his back a little but continued to work. He knew he probably looked utterly ridiculous with the lower half of Natasha’s dress wrapped around his head, but there was work to be done.

“Hey, honey,” Tony said. He wiggled the fabric again, trying to get it to lie flat.

“I see you’re keeping busy,” Steve said. He sounded amused. He patted Tony’s head through the fabric of Natasha’s dress, his aim just as precise as Natasha’s had been. “What’s for breakfast?” he asked.

“There’s oatmeal in the pot on the stove,” Natasha said. “It’s unsweetened, so you’ll have to add your own flavorings. Bruce made enough for everyone. He said he wanted – why did Barnes just stroll naked out of your bedroom, Stark?”

Tony jerked upright and banged his head on the underside of the table; Natasha’s oatmeal bowl bounced.

“What?” Tony squawked.

Natasha put her hand on Tony’s head. “Be careful,” she said. “I can’t get blood on this dress until after the wedding is over.”

“Well _that’s_ not frightening at all,” Steve said. He put a hand on Tony’s back. “Are you alright down there, Tony?”

“Why is Bucky still naked?” Tony said, rubbing at his head.

“I have no idea,” Steve said. “He’s gone now, though. He just made a break for the elevator.”

“I think we need to implement a rule in my penthouse,” Tony muttered, finally fixing the twisted seam. He lifted Natasha’s dress up off of his head, triumphant and furious. “No _nudists_ in my penthouse unless it’s me or they were invited.”

Natasha snorted and went back to her oatmeal.

Tony scowled. “I mean it this time. I better not catch anyone _else_ naked up here,” he warned. “There will be hell to pay.”

“I’m assuming you mean, everyone aside from Steve, of course?” Natasha said.

“Obviously,” Tony said. “He can be naked up here whenever he wants.”

“Right. I can see that happening,” Natasha said with a chuckle.

Tony stood up, dusting off his knees, and tried not to scowl. There would probably be someone else naked up here within the day at this rate – and it wouldn’t be him, or Steve with his luck. He steered Steve away from Natasha, glaring at her over his shoulder and looked him over, taking in the sight. True to his word, Steve had put on the sea-foam green suit despite his hatred of it. It fit Steve like a glove, accentuating the cut of his hips and shoulders in a way that made Tony want to peel the damn thing off of him right then and there.

Steve shuffled nervously under Tony’s gaze, glancing around as though unsure where he should be looking.

“You look gorgeous,” Tony said, reverently. He smoothed a crease on Steve’s shoulder and kept his hand there, enjoying the Steve’s warmth under his fingers. “Look at _you_.” He whistled. “Very nice.”

“I look like a stick of celery,” Steve muttered, sullenly. He stuffed his hands into his pockets.

“Aren’t you supposed to be an artist?” Natasha said through a mouthful of oatmeal.

Steve frowned. “You know I am,” he said. “What are you getting at?”

Natasha gestured with her spoon at Steve’s suit, mindful of the glob of oatmeal still on the end of it. “Isn’t celery a colour on its own?”

Steve sighed. “I guess you’re right.” He turned to Tony. “I look like a stick of seaweed,” he said. He swiveled on heels and turned to scowl at Natasha, looking more like Captain America than he had in over a month. “Happy?” Steve said.

“No. I’m not. You don’t look _anything_ like seaweed,” Natasha said, setting down her bowl of oatmeal. “Seaweed is a darker green. Well, most seaweed is.”

Tony smiled and shook his head. “You do not look like seaweed, or celery or whatever else out there that’s green, Steve. You look great,” he said. He wrapped his arms around Steve’s middle, drumming his fingers on Steve’s black leather belt. “I’m glad you decided to come with me – and hey, just think, we match!”

“I still think I look ridiculous,” Steve muttered. He wrapped his arms around Tony’s waist and rested his cheek against Tony’s shoulder.

“You’ll be the only two who match, actually,” Natasha said, standing up. She stretched like a cat, detangling herself from her sheet-bib with ease. She folded it up and set it on the back of the chair before bending down and picking up a large black box – one Tony recognized; it was a make-up box, one that Pepper always sure was on hand when they were heading out to press conferences. He had wondered where it had wandered off too.

“What’s Pepper planning?” Tony asked, cocking an eyebrow. Pepper had shown him the seating arrangements and he had snuck looks at her wedding playbook the night before, using Jarvis’ keen eyes, but there hadn’t been anything on her private server about _matching tuxedos_.

“I don’t want to spoil anything big, but the rest of the suits and bridesmaid dresses look like coral from the Great Barrier Reef,” Natasha said. She snapped her fingers. “No more talking. Eat. I’ve still got to do your make-up. I want to get this done before Pepper starts phoning and asking where the hell we are.”

“Roger that,” Steve said, giving Natasha a choppy salute.

Natasha rolled her eyes and pulled open the make-up box, sorting through the tools she would need.

Steve pulled away from Tony, giving him a soft smile, and headed over to the pot of oatmeal. “Get me the applesauce, will you?” he said over his shoulder.

Tony shuffled closer to the cabinets again. “What’s with you and applesauce? Should I be worried?”

“You afraid I’m going to run off with it into the sunset?” Steve asked. He plucked two bowls from the drying rack and scooped out equal portions of oatmeal for them both; he was a little heavy handed for Tony’s taste, but at least there was now food in reach.

Tony found the applesauce and handed it off to Steve, leaning back against the counter with a weary smile. “You joke now, but I know you, Steve Rogers. You and your goddamned apples.”

Steve grinned and handed Tony a bowl of oatmeal.

 

 

Natasha eyed Steve and nodded. “Good,” she said.

Steve shifted nervously in his chair. “You’re sure?”

“Yes,” Natasha said.

“You’re _absolutely_ sure?” Steve asked.

“Yes,” Natasha said. She picked up the pair of tweezers again and began plucking at Steve’s eyebrows with precise strikes.

Steve stared at her with hurt, sad, watery eyes. “You said you were done!”

“I said it was good,” Natasha said, tweasing away at Steve’s eyebrows, frowning the entire time as though every hair had done something to personally offend her. “I didn’t say I was done.”

“But you finished Tony’s makeup in ten minutes!” Steve growled, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Tony is prepped and read to go at a moment’s notice,” Natasha drawled.

Tony grinned lewdly behind Natasha and waggled his perfectly shaped eyebrows. “She’s absolutely right.” It was true; he had been plucked, primped, prodded and painted for practically every damn event he had ever gone though in his life. He could have walked through a tornado and needed only a hairbrush and some concealer to get through a press conference.

Steve’s face went bright red. “ _Tony_ ,” he hissed.

Natasha took the opportunity to twease another stray hair. She set the tweezers down with a stiff nod.

Steve rubbed at his eyebrows.

“Alright. We’ll get you primed up and pretty and then we’ll get the hell out of here,” Natasha said. She picked up the makeup brush she had set out and poured a blob of primer onto the side of her hand; she daubed at it, still frowning at Steve’s face and got to work.

Steve scowled at Tony over Natasha’s shoulder.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Tony chuckled. He resisted the urge to run his fingers through his hair, knowing that if he messed it up before the wedding was over, he would find himself bald and duct-taped to a palm tree somewhere. “You’re the one who decided you could teach yourself how to put it all on.”

“Look up,” Natasha said, tilting Steve’s chin so she could work on a patch of his cheek that had refused to tint properly.

“We’re still on time, right Jarvis?” Tony said. He pulled his phone from his pocket, checking for the ninth time that hour alone to make sure the battery was fully charged. He intended to get some pictures of Pepper and Happy no matter what, and while he knew there would be wedding photographers strutting around, waiting to get paid, he wanted backups. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust them; it was that he didn’t trust them not to lose things. He tucked his phone away in time to catch sight of Bucky trying to sneak onto the elevator.

“Get over here,” Tony grunted, glaring at Bucky. The bastard looked damn fine in tuxedo and by the looks of it, he had actually deigned to wash himself properly today; there was nary a greasy strand of hair in sight.

Bucky stalked over, shoulder hunched, and hovered beside Tony. He frowned when he noticed what Natasha was doing.

“Relax, hotstuff,” Tony said, “He’s getting a makeover before the wedding. The pictures need to be flawless.”

“Right,” Bucky snorted. “Smooth move, Stark.”

“Steve’s already flawless,” Tony said, rolling his eyes. “Nat’s just making sure we all look flawless like him.”

“Liar,” Steve said, smiling softly. “I just wish it didn’t make my eyes water so much.”

“It was just a little eyebrow hair,” Natasha grumbled. “Let it go already.”

“I did,” Steve insisted, patiently turning his head as Natasha steered his cheek to the left. “I let them go. They’re in the garbage where you left them.”

“Very funny,” Natasha sighed. She pulled out a new brush and set the foundation with powder before letting him leave. Bucky made to move and found himself pulled into Steve’s vacated seat.

“Hey,” Bucky protested.

“Say goodbye to your eyebrows,” Steve stage whispered.

Bucky’s eyes widened.

Tony chuckled. “You’re so mean,” he said, pressing a fond kiss to Steve’s hair. He didn’t dare kissing him on the cheek so soon after the foundation had been put on. Smudges would mean another few minutes with the make-up brush.

Natasha picked up the tweezers; they glinted in the light.

Bucky cringed. “Hey – leave my eyebrows alone!”

“I’m not going to take _all_ of them,” Natasha said, her voice steady and calm. “I’m only going to take the unruly ones.”

“You’ll be fine, Bucky,” Steve said, leaning against Tony. “It didn’t hurt all that much.”

Bucky yelped as Natasha got to work. “You people are horrible!”

“Give me fifteen minutes and we can leave,” Natasha said, clamping her hands down on the sides of Bucky’s head as he tried to squirm for freedom.

“You guys suck,” Bucky hissed.

 

 

They stepped out of the elevator and out into the parking lot. Tony checked his watch; they were still on time, but there was no sense in dawdling. He had a briefcase suit at the ready and was carrying it in his left hand, holding Steve’s hand in his right. No matter what happened today, they would be prepared. No one was going to ruin Pepper’s wedding. Not with him around.

“There you are,” Happy said. He was leaning against the black limo Tony had bought for the wedding, tapping his foot impatiently.

Tony’s jaw dropped. “What the _fuck_ are you doing here?”

Happy bristled. “I’m waiting for your sorry asses,” he snapped.

“You’re supposed to be at the wedding already!” Tony hissed. He pinched the bridge of his nose. Pepper was going to kill him for real; it didn’t matter if they showed up on time now, there was no way he was getting out of this without getting booted in the ass. The press was going to destroy him. He could already see the headlines: Tony Stark Makes Personal Driver Drive Him to Driver’s Wedding.

Happy blinked slowly. “What are you talking about, boss?”

“Happy,” Steve said, steering a frozen Tony over to the car. “You’re not supposed to be driving us to your wedding – it’s _your_ wedding!”

Happy paled. “Oh,” he said, fumbling for his keys as they slipped from his grasp. “When Pep said I wasn’t allowed to see her before the wedding, I figured I’d just wait for you guys – I didn’t think about that.”

“Fantastic,” Tony rasped. He allowed himself to be manhandled into the limo by both Bucky and Steve and sat panicking in the back seat, trying to find his phone. He patted his pockets, sweat dripping down the side of his face.

Natasha slipped into the car, taking a seat across from Steve, and handed Tony a Kleenex. “Relax,” she said. “Clint can drive.”

“Clint isn’t _here_ ,” Tony said through gritted teeth. Clint had gone on ahead after escaping the eyebrow plucking that morning. He was probably halfway across the city by now, with Coulson by his side. Calling Bruce would be out of the question – the Hulk and driving in the city did not mix – and Rhodey was already at the wedding hall. There was no one left – unless they wanted to call Thor and have him fly the limo over. It was tempting, but he could already see the crease in between Steve’s eyebrows that meant he was making a bad decision; he decided to let that plan go.

“Clint’s willing to come back,” Natasha said. Her voice had taken on a soothing quality to it somehow. “I just sent him a text. He can be here in ten minutes.”

“We can’t wait. We’ll be late if we wait for him – the traffic is nuts in the morning, you know it is,” Tony insisted. He leaned forwards and snapped his fingers. The solution was simple – how could he have missed it? “I’ll drive.”

“You can’t,” Steve said, gently easing Tony backwards into his seat. “You need a special licence, remember? Do you _really_ want to risk getting yourself arrested on the way to Pepper’s wedding? I think that’ll screw things up even more.”

Tony sighed. He looked over to Bucky.

“Don’t look at me, pal,” Bucky said, sighing and swearing under his breath. “I don’t have a licence to drive regular car – let alone this monstrosity.”

“It’s fine,” Happy said, pulling open the driver side door. He looked far calmer than he had a few moments beforehand; his chauffeur skills were taking over – this, he knew how to do. He sat down in the driver’s seat. “I’ll get us there in one piece. We’ll be fine. I’ll just sneak out through the back doors when we get there and no one will know I was driving.”

Tony pulled his phone out. He dialed Pepper’s number and cursed when she didn’t pick up; the call went straight to voicemail. “Damn it!” he said. He sent her a text telling her Happy was with him and hoped that it would be seen.

This was going to be a disaster; he could just feel it.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The parking lot is filled with paparazzi but at least things can't get worse, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you spot anything funky and I'll fix it! : )

The paparazzi was waiting for them in the parking lot like a horde of vultures waiting for a fresh kill; they barely had time to duck their heads before cameras were flashing and reporters were screaming out questions that they weren’t likely to get answers for. Tony hit the button that tinted the windows to pitch black so Happy could slip his way over the seats and into the back of the limousine, but it likely too late. All of them were too keyed up to think straight – aside from Natasha, who was texting back and forth with Clint, arranging for help getting out of the parking lot – and they had timed their arrival poorly.

Tony gritted his teeth. Inside the car, they were safe – for now. The paparazzi were assholes, but they knew better than to try and open car doors. He clenched his briefcase’s handle a little tighter. Oh god – Pepper was going to freak the fuck out. They had been seen _already_. All their plans for sneaking in had been dashed. What kind of Avengers were they? They couldn’t even sneak into a fucking parking lot without getting seen!

Steve put his hand on Tony’s. “It’s fine. I’m sure they’ll have their kid gloves on. It’s Pepper’s wedding, after all – not yours.”

“True,” Tony sighed. He reached up to run his hands through his hair and was grabbed by a stern looking Natasha.

“No touching the hair,” Natasha growled.

“Right – right. Sorry,” Tony muttered. He let his hand drop into his lap and let out a shaky breath. Steve took his hand and gently rubbed his thumb over his knuckles. It was soothing; Tony leaned sideways, pressing his shoulder up against Steve’s. This wasn’t his wedding – that was true; if it was, things would have been far more chaotic. He wondered what his wedding would be like. Would Steve say yes if he ever asked? Would Steve want a big wedding or a small gathering? Maybe he was thinking too far ahead. Not maybe. He was thinking way too far ahead. He gave his head a shake. Now was not the time.

Someone knocked on the window beside Steve’s head.

Tony gritted his teeth. “What is it?” he gritted out, keeping his voice sickeningly sweet.

“Open the damn door,” Rhodey said. He sounded like he was saying it through his teeth; he was probably smiling for the press.

Steve opened the door.

Tony caught sight of camera flashes as Rhodey clambered into the limo and slammed the door behind him. Rhodey let out a huff of a laugh and scratched at his hair. He looked handsome in his black tuxedo and white dress shirt; someone had done his make-up for him, and while he looked more than a little harassed, he seemed to be taking things better than Tony was.

“We have a problem,” Rhodey said, clearing his throat.

Tony sighed in despair. “What is it?”

“One,” Rhodey said. “Doctor Doom decided to take up Pepper’s invitation and is now sitting in the front row waiting for the wedding to get going.”

Tony swallowed hard. “Doom’s _here_?”

“You’re kidding,” Steve said. He sat up straighter, his hands curling into fists on his lap as he dropped Tony’s hand. “What do you need us to do?” His eyes glinted dangerously. He looked ready to single-handedly escort Doom out the front door.

“Do?” Rhodey snorted. “You don’t need to do anything. He’s behaving himself, actually. Pepper had her assistant hand him some champagne when he got here, and he’s been sitting there for the past hour just enjoying himself. He got here early too – he said he wanted to get a good seat.” Rhodey chuckled and shook his head. “He’s actually one of the best behaved guests we have. Not only is he not gossiping, he’s waiting _patiently_.”

“So what’s the problem?” Natasha asked, tucking her phone into her purse.

Rhodey turned slowly and locked eyes with Happy. “We lost the _groom_.”

Happy smiled sheepishly. “Sorry – I know I should have called, but I figured she wouldn’t be looking for me until the ceremony.”

“You were supposed to check in with Pep’s assistant _twenty minutes ago_ ,” Rhodey said, his eyes narrowed. “She got Tony’s texts – why didn’t she get one from you, pal?”

Happy paled and tugged at his sleeves. “She’s not uh, mad, is she?”

“She told me to do this,” Rhodey said. He reached out and smacked Happy in the side of the head. “ _Dumbass_!”

Happy winced and rubbed at his head.

Rhodey cleared his throat and straightened his tie. “She wants to see Tony ASAP,” he said. “I’m not sure what she wants, but she looked like she was going to burst into tears so I think we need to get moving.” He reached for the door. “Natasha, can you get the rest of the group to their spots?”

Natasha nodded. “She texted me already. I’ve got it covered – go. Do what you need to do.”

Rhodey threw open the limo door. He stepped out, flashing a grin at the crowd and waited patiently while Tony clambered out behind him, briefcase still held tightly in hand. He turned his attention to the paparazzi, and they flocked towards him to take pictures.

“Hey, can you guys do us a favor? We’d really rather keep the event private, so can you guys back it up a little and stay on the sidewalk?” Rhodey said.

To Tony’s surprise, the reporters and paparazzi did just as Rhodey asked; they backed up and even hurried to find the best positions there on the sidewalk.

Rhodey nodded curtly. “Let’s get moving,” he said to Tony.

Tony nodded. He glanced back into the limo, where Steve was still sitting on the edge of the seat, waiting to get out. “See you inside, ok?” he called over his shoulder.

Steve nodded. “See you later!”

 

 

They moved quickly, ducking through the swarm of decorators, party guests and flower arrangers rushing to finish things up before the ceremony; Tony had to sprint to keep up. Rhodey knew the quickest way to Pepper, and soon they were at the door of the small room where she had hidden herself away.

The door opened even before Rhodey could even raise his hand to knock. Delicately manicured hands reached out and grabbed them both by the lapels, dragging them into the room. Tony caught the door with the tip of his shoe and shut it.

Pepper looked like a _Queen_ ; her hair was flowing around her shoulders in a mane of bright, polished, copper. Her mermaid style wedding dress was even brighter in person. The strapless dress was trimmed with soft floral lace, and the train trailing behind her looked like it had been made from roses. It was beautiful. She tugged them further into the room. “I was worried you two wouldn’t show up,” Pepper sniffled.

Tony burst into tears.

Pepper burst into tears.

Rhodey looked at the both of them and burst into tears too.

They moved together and hugged, arms tangling as they struggled to find a comfortable position that didn’t crush their clothing. Pepper rested her cheek against Tony’s while Rhodey’s cheek mashed itself into hers.

“I’m just so _happy_ ,” Pepper sobbed.

“I know,” Tony cried.

“Me too,” Rhodey sobbed.

“I’m getting _married_ ,” Pepper said, digging her fingers into Tony’s suit jacket and Rhodey’s sleeve. “Oh my god – I’m getting _married_.”

“You’re getting _married_ ,” Rhodey sniffled.

“ _Oh my god_ ,” Tony sobbed.

They hugged each other tighter, huddling close. After a few minutes of sobbing, they pulled apart, each of them wiping at their faces while trying not to wreak their make-up. Pepper daubed at her cheeks with a piece of Kleenex; her mascara was still perfect, although her eyes looked a little red and puffy now.

“Happy’s here now, right?” Pepper asked, softly. “Natasha says he’s here, but I need to hear it from you two.”

“He’s here,” Rhodey said. “I even smacked him for you.”

“Good,” Pepper sighed. She stepped daintily over to a chair and gathered the train of her dress up, curling it around her white high heels so she couldn’t make a mess of it. She rested her hands on her knees and gave her head a shake. “I don’t think I slept at all last night,” she said.

“Nerves?” Rhodey asked. He grabbed a folding chair from the wall beside him and shoved it towards Tony before grabbing one of his own. They sat down together. The room was small, much smaller than it had looked from the outside, and there wasn’t much inside aside from a table, mirror and a few chairs. This wasn’t the place Pepper had been spending all of her time preparing for the wedding in; this was a sanctuary.

Pepper shifted in her seat, looking from Tony to Rhodey. She teared up again and shook her head, waving her hands in front of her face as if to fan away the tears. “No, not nerves per say,” she said. “I guess I just can’t believe it’s finally happening.” She smiled at them, her eyes still watery, the look filled with sadness. “I have my vows, my friends, my husband-to-be,” she sniffled, “but there’s one thing I don’t have. I don’t have my parents.”

Tony looked down at his feet. He hadn’t had the opportunity to meet Pepper’s family; they had been long dead by the time she had come to work for him, but he had heard all about them as the years went by. He knew how much Pepper missed having them around. Most holidays had been spent with him because of their loss; she had planned her life around arranging for their care, but it had been all for nothing. They had died long before she had even been able to get them into an old folk’s home. “I’m sorry, Pep,” he said.

“It’s alright,” Pepper said. She daubed at her eyes with the Kleenex. “It’s no one’s fault. Sometimes shitty things just happen. They died – there wasn’t anything anyone could do.”

“I think they would have been proud of you,” Rhodey said, softly. “Just look at all the stuff you’ve done. Getting married is the smallest part of that.”

Pepper wiped at her eyes again; her lower lip trembled.

“He’s right,” Tony said, cracking a watery smile. “Hell, you run the company so well, my _dad_ would have liked you.”

Pepper burst into tears again. “Oh, Tony.”

Tony chuckled. It was true. Howard _would_ have liked Pepper; she was the kind of daughter Howard would have wanted. She was efficient, strong willed, and did whatever she needed to do to keep the company going. She fought men twice her age for power and won every time. Hell, she didn’t even really need Tony’s help to do that. The Board were hers to command and she did it with an unequalled grace.

Pepper blew her nose. “Alright – no more crying.” She swallowed hard and fiddled with the Kleenex in her hand. “I have something I need to ask you too, but first I need to know some things. Are the honeymoon plans still a go?” she asked.

Tony and Rhodey nodded.

“As far as I know, it’s all still going ahead just like we planned it,” Rhodey said. He crossed his arms over his chest and glanced over at Tony.

“It’ll be fine. Jarvis has run through everything a good thousand times at this point,” Tony said, nodding along. “After dinner is over, the stunt couple is going to head on out in a limo and lead the paparazzi off on a wild goose chase. You’ll pack your dress away – Happy’ll put his tux away and you’ll head back to the Tower so you can pick up our luggage and head out. Mrs. Jia knows you’re coming – she’s made sure your place is all stocked up and clean. She’ll be there waiting for you tomorrow afternoon.”

Pepper nodded slowly. “You and Steve are coming out too, right?”

“Yep,” Tony said. “We’ll be on our way as soon as we can get our bags into our car.”

“Good,” Pepper said. She smiled softly at Tony. “How are you two doing, by the way?”

“We’re fine,” Tony said, squinting at Pepper. “Really? You’re asking me about my relationship on your wedding day?”

Pepper rested her elbows on her knees. “Why not? It’s my wedding. I’ll ask what I want,” she said with a grin.

Tony groaned and put his head in his hands. He should have known better than to get into an argument with Pepper; arguing didn’t work in general, and apparently the wedding was making her a thousand times better at it than usual.

“So you still haven’t gotten it on?” Rhodey asked, curiously.

Tony groaned again.

“He hasn’t,” Pepper said, looking surprised. “Is there a problem?”

“There is no problem,” Tony said with a huff. “We’re fine – I’m fine. There is no problem.”

“But you haven’t had sex yet,” Rhodey said with a frown. “Weren’t you two planning on getting lucky when you were alone at your Beach House last time?”

“Alright fine. No. We did not get lucky. Bucky dropped by and Mabel decided my back was the best place to be. They both cockblocked me every chance they got,” Tony muttered. “And it’s not like we didn’t have other distractions – my back looked like it took a turn with a lemon zester after the cat slid down it, and then we had to head home to get ready for the wedding. I really don’t want to talk about this right now. Can we talk about something else? About the _wedding_ , perhaps?”

“I suppose,” Pepper conceded. She cleared her throat and gathered her hands in her lap, clutching at the Kleenex. “So, as you are aware, my parents aren’t here.”

“We are aware,” Tony said.

Rhodey nodded. “Very aware.”

“So,” Pepper said. She gnawed on her lower lip and then thought better of it, letting the lip go before she could mess up her lipstick by leaving teeth imprints in it. “I have a question. I know it’s kind of last minute, but I didn’t really think about it until this morning when I was in the shower. I was busy writing vows, and doing paperwork – it sort of slipped my mind.”

Tony cocked an eyebrow. He leaned forwards and grinned. “Where’s this headed? Are you _pregnant_?”

Pepper let out a startled laugh. “ _Fuck_ no,” she said. “No, no, no. I am not pregnant.”

“So we’re not both going to be Godfathers?” Tony asked. He was a little disappointed, to be honest. He liked the idea of being able to spoil Pepper’s kids rotten. Having Steve around as a child had made babysitting a lot more fun than it had ever seemed before; he wouldn’t have minded watching the little ones for her. If she wanted them, he would babysit them every damn day if she needed him to help out.

Pepper rolled her eyes. “You both know you’d be Godfathers for any kid I have, just like I’d be the Godmother to yours,” she said.

Rhodey grinned at Tony. “I told you she knew already.”

Tony grinned back, feeling warm all over.

“The question isn’t about babies,” Pepper said. She quirked a smile again, her eyes watering once more. She clutched the Kleenex in her hand a little tighter and straightened up in her seat. “My dad isn’t here to walk me down the aisle and give me away, so would you two – would you like to do it?”

This time it was Rhodey who bust into to tears first; Tony followed shortly after.

Pepper burst into tears when she saw that the pair of them were crying.

“Of course we would,” Tony managed to get out.

“It would be our _honor_ ,” Rhodey said, his voice cracking.

The three of them leaned in again, and hugged each other tightly.

“Oh my god, you’re getting _married_ ,” Rhodey sobbed into Pepper’s shoulder.

“She’s getting _married_ ,” Tony wailed, into Rhodey’s shoulder.

“I’m getting _married_ ,” Pepper cried into Tony’s shoulder.

 

 

 

Tony stepped out into the main hall where the wedding would take place with his briefcase still held tightly in hand. He looked around, hopeful that his eyes weren’t too red and bleary from having cried for a good twenty minutes. Rhodey had said he would be out in a few minutes, but Tony wasn’t so sure he would reappear so quickly; he had said he was making a quick call to check on his mother’s progress, as she hadn’t arrived yet, and he knew how Rhodey’s mother got when it came to traveling long distance. She got lost in the city almost every time she came to visit, and Rhodey always ended up searching for her.

There were white wooden folding chairs set up in neat lines facing a stage where the officiator would stand when the time came for Pepper and Happy to finally tie the knot. The room itself was decorated to make it look as if they were under the sea. He had known it would be a mermaid-themed wedding, he just hadn’t known how _thorough_ Pepper would be with the decorations. There was sand on the floor under their feet, and fake seaweed plastered to the wall. Shells were lying amidst the seats, and there were glass baubles hanging from the ceiling that looked like air bubbles returning to water’s surface. The light fixtures that dotted the ceiling had special filters on them that made the light come down in varying soft shades of blue. It should have looked tacky, but somehow, it didn’t.

Tony approached Steve and the rest of the Avengers who were gathered on the left-hand side of the room beside a row of white folding chairs. The rest of the guests who had arrived early were milling around, conversing about everything from the weather to the decorations and the other guests. More than a few heads turned in his direction as he slipped between chairs; he ignored their looks, plastering a smile on his face and hoped for the best. Maybe the paparazzi had already spilled the beans about Happy driving them, maybe not. Whatever it was they were gossiping about, it could wait. This was Pepper’s day – not his.

Steve smiled warmly at Tony. “Hey there,” he said. “I didn’t expect to see you back here so soon.”

“We talked things out pretty fast once we knew what we were doing,” Tony said. He wrapped an arm around Steve’s shoulder and leaned closer, wishing he could give Steve a kiss. They hadn’t talked about public displays of affection yet; he had been meaning to have that conversation earlier in the week, but with everything going on, it had slipped his mind. He set the briefcase down on the floor between his feet and hummed softly. “Things went very well,” he said.

Steve surprised him by leaning up and planting a kiss on his lips. “I missed you,” he said. “I was kind of worried you were in trouble the way Rhodey came in and dragged you off. I guess I was worrying for nothing.”

The guests around them started murmuring, holding their hands over their mouths – as if that would stop anyone from noticing the sudden increase in noise. Doctor Doom even turned around in his seat and watched Tony for a moment before giving them a curt nod and turning back to staring at the front of the room, sipping his Champagne.

Tony grinned; his cheeks felt like they were going to spontaneously combust, but it was a good feeling. He leaned down and gave Steve a kiss, tangling his fingers in the short hairs on the back of Steve’s neck. He pulled away, pleased to see that Steve was now just as flushed as he was and stood up straighter, grinning for the world to see. Fuck the gossips. They could kiss a goat’s hairy ass for all he cared.

“It’s sweet that you worried,” Tony said, “but it’s alright. She uh, she kind of asked us to walk her down the aisle.”

The Avengers moved closer, gathering around Tony. Thor, dressed impeccably in a tailored suit, thumped Tony on the back and grinned broadly. Clint and Coulson both smiled at Tony from a distance, too busy holding hands and watching the crowd to creep closer. Bruce smiled but stayed safely huddled near the wall behind them; he wasn’t dangerous in crowds, but it was a wedding and all and that came with its own stressors. Bucky gave Tony a soft smile and shifted out of the way so Natasha could slip closer and give both Tony and Steve a hug.

“I’m glad you and Rhodes said yes,” Natasha murmured into Tony’s ear as she pulled away.

“How could I say no to her? She’s _Pepper_ ,” Tony said, aghast at the mere thought of saying no. He was faintly aware of his eyes watering again and cleared his throat, turning away to stare at the rest of the crowd. “It’s a nice turnout – you know, aside from Doom.”

Natasha pulled away and shifted her stance to glance in Doom’s direction. She pursed her lips, but seemed unconcerned. “He’s in a good mood today,” she said. “I doubt he’s going to be a problem unless someone outright goes after him, and the rest of the wedding guests know better than to pick a fight with him. He’s waiting to say his congratulations to the bride and groom after the wedding – claims he can’t stay to eat because he’s got business at the Latverian Embassy.”

“Ah yes, his day job is a tough one,” Tony said. He couldn’t see any banquet tables around at the moment, but he knew food was supposed to be appearing at some point after the ceremony was finished. The caterers were had worked overtime to get everything done, and with a Demi-god, a somewhat-super-soldier and a bunch of hungry guests, there had to be a lot of food around to keep everyone happy.

“SHIELD’s keeping an eye outside as promised,” Natasha said. “Clint and Coulson have their earpieces in, so if they spot something, they’ll send us a signal. So far everything is going swimmingly. There’s been no sign of Hydra or Aim. Oh, and Rhodes mother is sitting in the back row – I should probably let him know about that.”

“That’s good. It better stay that way,” Tony said.

“Agreed,” Natasha said. She pulled out her phone and began texting. “There,” she said. “If you see Rhodes and he’s panicking, let him know about his mom.”

“Alrighty,” Tony said. He looked around the room again, checking out the crowd to see if he could spot any troublemakers. He couldn’t see anything, but that didn’t necessarily mean that they weren’t there. “I feel like someone should be knocking on some wood or something so our luck doesn’t run out,” he muttered.

Bucky reached over Steve’s head and rapped his knuckles gently on the top of Tony’s head. “That good enough for you?”

Tony snorted. “You know what,” he said, “I think it is.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it off to Steve. “Can you take pictures of the wedding for me?” he asked. “Pretty please?”

“Sure,” Steve said. He frowned down at the phone. “How do I unlock it again?”

“Just put your thumb on it,” Tony said. “It’s set to your thumbprint and mine. The suit’s case is keyed to your prints as well – can you watch that too? I know I’m making you look after all my crap, but I don’t want to carry it down the aisle and make a spectacle of myself. Besides, if I accidentally kneecap someone with that briefcase, Pepper’s going to hang me by my belt loops from the ceiling and use me as a piñata.”

Steve’s eyes widened. “You’re leaving the suit here too?”

“It’ll be fine, I promise. If you need to call it out, just press you hand to the sensor on the lock and it’ll launch. I’ve got a clicker in my pocket that’ll do all the rest, so don’t worry about it too much.” Tony pressed a kiss to Steve’s cheek. “Thanks. I really appreciate this.”

“I’ll try to get as many good pictures as I can,” Steve promised.

Rhodey waved at Tony from the doorway.

“Duty calls,” Tony said. He squeezed Steve’s shoulder. “Wish me luck.”

Steve smiled. “Good luck,” he said.

 

 

Rhodey let out a nervous sigh and wrung his hands. “Ma’s here.”

“That’s good,” Tony said.

“It’s almost time,” Rhodey said. “Holy shit, it’s been two hours already.”

“Damn that went by fast,” Tony grumbled, consulting his watch. It hadn’t felt like it, but those two hours of leeway were now finally used up. The ceremony was about to start. He wondered if Happy and Pepper were feeling nervous, or relieved right about now. If it was him going down the aisle, he would have been sweating through his shirt; he made a mental note to start designing sweat-absorbing menswear for the future. He and Rhodey took their places on opposite sides of the doorframe and waited for Pepper to appear.

Someone cued music. Tony couldn’t see who did it, but within seconds, everyone was sauntering over to their seats, and sitting down. The Avengers remained standing beside their seat, grinning and waiting for Pepper to arrive. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

A little girl in pigtails, one of Happy’s nieces, stepped through the doorway with a basket of rose petals. Her brother, also in pigtails, holding a tiny black pillow with the rings tied to it, came barreling out after her and followed along as she threw petals all over the place. Tony knew them both. They loved matching, and their parents loved letting them make their own decisions when it came to their hair.

Tony grinned at Rhodey.

Rhodey grinned back.

Pepper stepped through the doorway. Her veil was down, and it flowed over her hair and face like it was made of water. She didn’t have a bouquet in her hands. Instead, she had kept them empty. She took Tony’s hand in her left and Rhodey’s in her right. “Alright boys,” she said. “Lead the way.”

They started walking.

The wedding march began to play.

They took each step in unison, mindful of Pepper’s dress’ train as it slid across the floor behind them. Tony was bawling his eyes out, barely holding the sobs in; he could see that Rhodey was too, and while the veil covered Pepper’s face, she was probably crying as well if her muffled sobs were anything to go by. They were almost at Happy when Pepper stumbled and let out a soft hiss. Rhodey and Tony lurched to a stop.

“You ok?” Tony asked.

“Pep?” Rhodey said.

“My dress is – oh god. This is embarrassing,” Pepper muttered. She turned to Tony. “Can you do me a huge favor?”

“What, _I’m_ not good enough?” Rhodey teased.

Pepper smirked at him through the veil, her eyes twinkling. “There are some things I know you don’t want to ever have to see, Rhodey,” she said.

Tony frowned. “What do you need me to do?”

“The uh, the inside of my dress is twisting and it’s kind of attached itself to my garters,” Pepper muttered out of the corner of her mouth. “Oh dear god that hurts.”

“Oh,” Tony said.

“Just a second folks,” Rhodey called out. “We’ve got a wardrobe problem – we’ll get moving again in a second.”

The crowd began to murmur softly amongst themselves. Happy locked eyes with Tony from a distance, his expression pained.

“You’re absolutely sure you want me to be the guy fixing this?” Tony asked, kneeling down at Pepper’s feet. “You know, Happy would be more than willing to have his hands up here.”

“I know,” Pepper chuckled. “That’s why you’re going to do it. I want it to say a secret until _after_ the wedding, or he’s going to be too distracted to say his vows.” She lifted her dress up high enough for Tony to duck under it and dropped it back down.

Tony moved quickly; he was well aware of the people whispering outside of the Wedding Dress Bubble, and he knew that someone out there was snapping photos. Pepper’s legs were silky smooth when he brushed up against them. It was a tight fit under her wedding dress. He was fairly certain his beard was scratching her, but she wasn’t complaining. He looked up, fingers dancing over fabric and spotted the twist in the garters. Pepper’s choice of underwear was something that, in the past, would have delighted him. She was wearing green satin panties that were more lace than actual panty; Happy was a lucky guy in more ways than one. He averted his eyes and got to work on the tangles, moving as quickly as the fabric allowed. When he pulled his head free, smoothing down the wedding dress, a cheer bubbled up from the Avengers.

Pepper patted Tony’s head gently and held out her hand to help him up. “Thank you,” she said, sniffling slightly.

“Not a problem,” Tony said. He cleared his throat and straightened up. “Shall we keep walking?”

Rhodey smirked. “You sure you still can?”

“Hey,” Tony chuckled. “I’m taken. No amount of sexy panties is going to change that – unless they’re on my favourite guy.”

Pepper quirked an eyebrow. “You’ve seen more than one pair today?”

“Natasha needed me to fix her dress too,” Tony said. “Apparently I’m everyone’s go-to dress-fixer. Who knew?”

“You should put that on your business card,” Rhodey chuckled.

Tony snorted. “I think I’m going to get enough press for it today as it is,” he said.

“Shall we?” Rhodey said, glancing over at Pepper and Tony.

“Let’s,” Tony said.

They began walking together again.

Happy grinned at Pepper. “Ready?” he said.

“You bet your ass I’m ready,” Pepper said. She turned to Rhodey and Tony, giving each of them a bone crushing hug. “Thank you,” she whispered in their ears.

“No,” Rhodey said, “Thank you.”

“Yeah really,” Tony said, sniffling.

Tony and Rhodey stepped back, moving to join the Avengers at their seats.

Happy took Pepper’s hands in his. They turned to face the stage.

The officiator, a tall, lanky woman wearing an immaculately ironed navy blue suit opened her mouth to speak.

The wall behind her exploded.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The attack had been unexpected - the attacker, even more so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings for violence, talk about implied abuse/sexual abuse and blood.

Pepper and Happy stumbled backwards as chunks of wood and plaster came flying at them; they both had years of experience dealing with explosions – even the unexpected ones – and while it was frightening, neither of them panicked. The officiator wasn’t so lucky. She turned around at the first sign of the explosion and took a block of wood to the temple. She dropped like a rock onto the stage amidst the debris, unconscious. 

Tony and Rhodey lunged forwards, intending to dive for Pepper and Happy when yet another explosion went off – this time from the wedding hall’s main entrance.

The crowd started screaming; time seemed to move at a crawl.

The lights crackled and went out; even the holes caused by the explosions went dark, the sunlight seemingly drained away.

Tony coughed into his sleeve as dust filled the air. He could hear heavy footsteps up on the stage. Someone was wearing combat boots, and it wasn’t one of the wedding guests – they were all wearing dress shoes. He tensed, readying himself for battle with nothing more than his fists and his wits for protection. There was danger here now. Sure, there weren’t any red laser sights tracing the floor, but he knew that didn’t mean much; the weapons industry had begun testing other methods these days, and if the army had access to that kind of thing, anyone could have gotten their hands on it by now.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” a voice growled from the stage, “Please stay calm and remain in your seats. We’ll be out here just as soon as we get what we want.”

Rhodey stepped closer to Tony. “Who are these assclowns?” he hissed in Tony’s ear.

“I have no idea,” Tony hissed back. “There weren’t supposed to be any surprise guests.” He patted at his pockets, but it was no use. His phone was still with Steve. He had chosen to not wear an earpiece that morning and he was deeply regretting that choice now that he had no way to get a hold of the rest of the team. He did, however, have one thing going for him still, aside from his good looks. The clicker that would summon the briefcase suit, assuming the briefcase was in fact unlocked, was still in his pocket. He wasn’t defenceless – at least not yet. Things might not be as bad as they seemed.

“Mr. Stark?” the same growled, disembodied voice called out in the darkness. “I know you’re here, Mr. Stark. Could you please come up front and join the bride and groom?”

Rhodey grabbed Tony’s sleeve. “If you go up there, you’re probably a dead man,” he whispered. “They could be lying. They might not even have Pepper and Happy. Maybe they got away already.”

“There’s no way to know that for sure,” Tony whispered back. “I have to go.”

Rhodey released Tony’s sleeve with reluctance. “Alright, but I’m coming with you.”

“That’s fine with me,” Tony said. Together, they stumbled forwards, feeling their way along through the sand and the dark until they bumped their knees against the edge of the stage.

Someone reached down and grabbed Tony by the arm, hauling him up onto the stage; he didn’t struggle, and instead focused his attention on trying to figure out who the people standing on the stage were now that his eyes had adjusted to the dark. Clearly, they were enemies. All of the people he could make out were dressed in tactical gear, but that was where things got weird; every last inch of it looked _SHIELD issue_. Either someone had stolen supplies, or these were the men and women who Fury had sent to guard the wedding.

The man who had grabbed Tony was wearing night vision goggles and while Tony couldn’t see the entirety of his face, he recognized the scruffy bastard all the same. He had met him a handful of times while in SHIELD HQ on business. The guy had been on most of Steve’s special ops missions – the ones Tony and the other Avengers, aside from Natasha, weren’t supposed to know about.

“Rumlow? Brock Rumlow?” Tony gritted out.

“Hey, what do you know,” Rumlow chuckled darkly. “He recognizes me. I’m a _celebrity_.” His grip on Tony’s arm tightened. He drew Tony away from the edge of the stage, yanking him out of Rhodey’s range. “Your little friend should back the fuck up unless he wants to get your brains all over his face.”

Rhodey moved back slowly, his hands held in the air. “I’m moving away – I heard you loud and clear, pal. I’m not looking for any trouble.”

“Good,” Rumlow said. He pulled Tony closer to his chest, his fingers digging uncomfortably into Tony’s dress shirt. “So here’s the deal, pretty boy. You do what we ask, and we’ll let you and your friends walk out of here in one piece.”

“Why are you doing this? You work with SHIELD for fuck’s sake,” Tony snapped.

“I do,” Rumlow agreed with a smirk.

Tony’s eyes narrowed.

“Oh, I think you know why we’re here, Stark,” Rumlow said. He dragged Tony into the middle of the stage as one of the other men in night vision goggles and armor kicked the unconscious officiator off the edge of the stage like a sack of garbage.

“What did Pepper and Happy ever do to you?” Tony said. “Or is it me you’re after?”

“Oh, we’re after a lot of different people,” Rumlow said. He pulled his night vision goggles off just as the lights crackled back on. His hair was spiked up and greasy, blacker than tar. He rubbed a hand over his stubble covered chin and chuckled, amused by the look of fury on Tony’s face. “Here,” he said, pushing Tony towards Pepper. “Do me a favor. Take her hand and hold on tight. If I see you let go, she’s dead, you get me?”

Tony stiffened. He blinked away spots and gazed out into the crowd with Pepper’s hand clamped down on his. There were guards at both the hole in the wall and the entrance, and everyone was heavily armed. This wasn’t regular old terrorist gear; this was _SHIELD issue containment weaponry_. Some of the weapons he saw weren’t supposed to even be out of SHIELD’s weapons locker unless they had yet another alien invasion to deal with. This was bad – _very_ bad.

Rumlow cleared his throat. “You know what? I changed my mind. No one needs to be sitting for this. Get up and move towards my men,” he said, nodding to the crowd.

Everyone scrambled to get out of their chairs.

The Avengers were easy to spot in the chaos, even without their uniforms on. Rhodey, Thor, Clint, Coulson, Natasha and Bruce were herded into the crowd, where they were surrounded by terrified wedding guests. Bucky and Steve, on the other hand, had somehow escaped notice. They were standing by their chairs near the wall, huddled together as though trying to duck out of sight amidst the fake seaweed sticking out from the wall behind them.

The only person who refused to be moved from his seat was Doctor Doom. He was still holding his glass of in hand; his arms were crossed over his chest, and he did not look pleased. “Doom rises for no man,” he growled. The guards didn’t hesitate; they simply ignored him and moved away.

There was only one person Tony couldn’t find. He turned around slowly, trying to find the groom without letting go of Pepper’s hand; he could see her doing the same thing. When they found him, they both went sheet white. There, standing on the stage to the left of them, being pinned between three burly men armed with shock prods, was Happy.

Rumlow smiled. “You’re getting it now, huh, Stark?”

“I’m getting it alright,” Tony muttered. “You’re fucking _crazy_.”

“Don’t throw words around,” Rumlow said, solemnly. “I’m a _tactician_. I have everyone where I need them. How exactly does that make me crazy?”

“You attacked a wedding that was being attended by every member of the _Avengers_ ,” Tony snorted. “How the fuck is that sane?”

“Oh please,” Rumlow chuckled. He pulled a shock prod from the strapping behind his back and twirled it in his hands, his movements fluid and casual as if he was showing off a party trick. “Think about it a little, Stark. How could we _not_ attack? You’re all here, waiting for the slaughter. You were asking for it.”

“You attacked when we have the _Hulk and Thor_ at our side,” Tony snorted. “I stand by what I said. _Crazy_.”

“They’re in the middle of a bunch of very _squishy_ , and very _human_ wedding guests,” Rumlow pointed out. “Your friends aren’t going to do anything rash, not when we’ve got guns pointed in all the right places.”

“What do you want?” Pepper said, her voice low. Her hair was starting to frizz up; her veil had been yanked off and dropped somewhere. Despite that, she looked calm and collected, as though she was in a board meeting where she had all the time in the world to get what she wanted. There was no fear in her eyes.

“We want three things. We want the _asset_ back,” Rumlow said, smiling crookedly at Pepper. He leaned closer to her, letting the shock prod charge up. Its tip glowed blueish-white; Tony could hear it buzzing.

“We want Captain Rogers, and we want revenge,” Rumlow said.

The asset? Tony frowned. Who the fuck was _the asset_? Who the hell was Rumlow talking about?

“You’re not SHIELD at all. You’re Hydra, aren’t you?” Pepper said, taking a calculated step backwards. Tony moved with her, mindful of her dress’ train. He hoped to god Steve remembered that he had the briefcase because he did not want to see the look on Pepper’s face if someone befouled her dress.

“How did you think we got so close, _sweetheart_? No one else was allowed to your little bash – Fury made damn sure of that,” Rumlow said. “But really, they should have seen it coming. Did you think we were going to just sit back and crack our knuckles from a distance while you and chubby hubby got married?” Rumlow laughed. “Did you really think you were _safe_ here? None of you assholes are armed – you’re all wearing adorable formal wear, smiling and patting yourselves on the back.” He spat on the floor. The energy in his shock prod sparked, driving Pepper and Tony another step backwards.

“It’s a _wedding_ ,” Tony growled back. “Who cracks their knuckles during a _wedding_?”

Rumlow shifted his stance; the move was so quick, Tony barely had time to see it coming before the shock prod hit him in the gut.

Tony’s legs turned to jelly. He dropped to the floor, his body convulsing, just barely managing to keep his hold on Pepper’s hand. His vision whited out momentarily. He clamped down on his fear, forcing it away as the pain began to diminish. The arc reactor was EMP shielded, he reminded himself – Christ, he was lucky that the electricity hadn’t crawled its way across their bridged hands into Pepper.

“Don’t worry, Stark,” Rumlow said. “That was the lowest setting. I’ll show you something more when I’m done with my mission. We’ll enjoy that together.”

Pepper knelt beside Tony. She looked ready to throw herself onto Rumlow so she could tear his eyes out with her _teeth_. “Why are you doing this?” she asked, her free hand curling into a fist.

Rumlow let out a bark of a laugh. “Now, now,” he said. “Remember our rules. You drop his hand to hit me and you’re both dead. It’s cute that you want to defend your dear old boss, but think practically, _lady_.” He turned his back to Pepper and strutted to the edge of the stage. “Captain Rogers,” he drawled, addressing the crowd. “Where’s our dear Captain hiding?”

Steve took step forwards; Tony’s briefcase was clenched tightly in his hand. “I’m right here, Rumlow,” he said.

The guards standing at the back of the stage raised their weapons.

“What the hell are you doing,” Bucky snapped. He grabbed Steve by the shoulder and pulled him backwards, putting himself in between the guns and Steve without even an ounce of hesitation. Bucky glared at Rumlow, and even from a distance, Tony could tell that Rumlow was someone Bucky knew well enough to utterly despise.

“Oh goodie,” Rumlow cooed. “The _asset_ appeared all on his own! I wasn’t expecting that.”

“We’re not going anywhere with you, pal,” Bucky said, his voice emotionless and cold. His stance changed ever-so-slightly; he stood facing Rumlow head on, his body shielding Steve from sight.

Tony didn’t like the way Bucky’s voice had changed; it reminded him far too much of the Winter Soldier. Something wasn’t right. He shifted nervously beside Pepper, wishing he could help somehow. Was the Winter Soldier still there, hibernating in Bucky’s brain? They hadn’t seen any sign of the assassin before now – was it possible that it had hidden itself away, a virus lurking amidst Bucky’s memories and thoughts?

“Really? The asset is going to fight back?” Rumlow reached into his vest pocket and pulled out what looked like a garage door remote. He held it up as thought it was a scepter, making sure Bucky could see it. “What if I use this? Do you think you’ll be able to fight me this time?”

Bucky’s eyes narrowed. His jaw clenched.

“Either you come with us now, or I use _you_ to bring your little friend to us,” Rumlow said. “Would you like that? Would you like to dig your fingers into your friend’s throat?”

“Fuck you,” Bucky said.

Rumlow sighed and shook his head. “I tried doing this the easy way, but I guess I can’t ignore history. You always _did_ have a hard time getting with program. Oh well. I guess I’ve got no choice until we can wipe you again properly.” He pressed the clicker.

Bucky tensed.

Rumlow pressed the clicker again. He scowled. “That’s interesting.”

“Did you really think Stark was going to leave you bastards anything to work with?” Bucky said. Sweat dripped down the side of his face. He held his cybernetic arm up and wiggled his fingers, testing and showing them at the same time. “This arm’s _new_ , asshole.”

Rumlow gnashed his teeth and threw the clicker from the stage and into the sand. The wedding guests whimpered and pulled back even though it had landed nowhere near them, huddling closer to Thor, Rhodey, Clint and Coulson. Tony scanned the crowd, hoping everyone was safe. He smiled when he realized that someone was missing. Maybe they weren’t so screwed after all. He struggled to his feet, paying special attention to his wobbly knees so he wouldn’t pitch over. He held on tightly to Pepper’s hand. “Pep?” he said out of the corner of his mouth.

Pepper didn’t turn to face him, but she nodded her head slightly to show that she had heard him.

“When Steve opens my briefcase, I need you to hold your hands and make your body look like a T, alright?” Tony whispered.

Pepper nodded again.

Rumlow didn’t seem to care that his hostages were talking amongst themselves. He launched himself from the stage, pulling the second shock prod from its holster on his back. His grin had turned vicious; he approached Bucky with his teeth bared, his eyes dark and glinting. “I kind of like that you picked this route, _asset_ ,” he said. “I’m going to enjoy this. You always did taste good. Maybe this time they’ll let me keep you for a while after you’re reconditioned. Would you like that? You were always so agreeable that way.”

Bucky blocked the first hit with his cybernetic arm, grimacing as the electricity sparked up and down the metal plating. The arm remained functional; Tony’s work was better than anything Hydra could build, after all and a little electricity couldn’t even scratch the outer plating, let alone take it out of comission. Bucky attacked, still keeping himself in between Rumlow and Steve; he turned slightly, and nailed Rumlow in the shoulder with his flesh-and-blood fist.

Rumlow didn’t even flinch. He swung the shock prods again and brought both batons down on Bucky’s cybernetic arm, sending sparks flying and Bucky skidding backwards into Steve. They grappled, Bucky hitting and kicking, Rumlow striking at everything fleshy he could reach. When Rumlow ducked a blow, Bucky pulled a knife from the back of his pants and slashed at him. Tony hadn’t known he had brought one with him, the sneaky bastard.

“Oh, ho! Look who found some _teeth_ ,” Rumlow crowed. “I knew there was a reason why they wanted you back – aside from just wanting to use your pretty face.”

Steve was forced to dive into a row of chairs to avoid being hit when Rumlow struck next. The briefcase sailed through the air and landed with a thump in the sand. He dove towards it, rolling out of the way as Rumlow’s foot came slamming down into the sand beside him.

Rumlow and Bucky continued to fight.

Steve began to crawl. There was sand in his hair and all over his clothing by the time he managed to scramble up onto his knees again, but he was unhurt. He dove for the suitcase just as Rumlow’s shock baton struck Bucky in the side of the head.

Bucky went down without a sound; he lay twitching on the floor, his eyes wide with horror as electricity coursed its way through his body.

Rumlow let out a low whistle and gave Bucky another jab with the prod, sending more electricity through him in a blinding flash of white-and-blue. When Bucky continued to convulse on the floor, he let out a long, satisfied sigh, pleased with what he saw. “Good boy. Stay there, _asset_ ,” he said. He rolled Bucky onto his belly with his boot and kicked the knife away. He knelt down and turned Bucky’s head to the side. “I’ll be back for you in a second,” he said. “Right now, I’m going to teach your Captain how to _beg_. Here. You can watch.”

Tony wanted to rush to Steve’s side even though he knew he would be horribly outmatched. He felt Pepper’s hand tighten in his own.

“Don’t,” Pepper murmured.

Tony slumped. He was shaky from being zapped by the shock prod, his knees rubbery, but his mind was willing; it was the worst kind of torment to know that even if he wanted to, he couldn’t help. “I can’t just stand here and watch,” he admitted.

“We have to stay here. You heard what Rumlow said – if you let go of my hand, his lackeys will shoot us both. I think he means it,” Pepper said, her voice so soft, Tony almost missed it. “Besides, I can’t run in this dress – I’ll just drag you down if you try. We’ll get our chance. We just need to wait for it.”

“Alright – we’ll do it your way,” Tony said. He sized up the men holding Happy captive a few feet away, searching for weaknesses he could exploit. His gut clenched unpleasantly at the sight of their tactical armor. He knew Pepper had called things right; rash actions would lead to consequences not just for him and Pepper, but for Happy as well. Happy, while being a boxer and bodyguard, wasn’t exactly the best fighter in the world – he wouldn’t be able to defend himself if something did happen.

The men holding Happy hostage were a lot bigger than most men Tony had faced, and while he wasn’t defenceless without the suit, he knew just how useless he would be against someone in full body armor; Happy wouldn’t be much better off. Pepper’s wedding couldn’t end with death – it couldn’t end with them all bleeding out on the floor.

Tony gritted his teeth and forced himself to watch while Rumlow went after Steve, letting his brain catalogue moves, strengths and the locations of the snipers and guards around him instead of the many ways this day could end badly.

Steve might have been small, but he wasn’t going to down without a fight; he hadn’t given up a fight before the serum and he hadn’t given up on one after it either. He kicked Rumlow’s feet out from under him with surprising speed and snatched up the briefcase. Unfortunately, the blow wasn’t enough to keep Rumlow down – he was only human now, after all, and his kicks weren’t like sledgehammer blows anymore. Before he could press his thumb to the scanner on the handle’s scanner, Rumlow was up and on him. Steve struggled valiantly, scratching, biting and pulling hair.

It was no use.

Rumlow’s face was covered in bloody scratches by the time he subdued Steve, pinning him to the ground with his knee. He seemed to know all of Steve’s moves by heart, and could counter everything thrown his way without even really trying. He didn’t bother with the shock prod this time; he simply hit Steve in the face once and hauled Steve upright while Steve was stunned.

Steve hung limply in Rumlow’s grasp. His lower lip was split blood had dribbled down his chin.

“See?” Rumlow said, giving Steve a rough shake that sent Steve’s head bobbling. “I told you we could do this the easy way, but no. You two had to go and fight back. You know you can’t win this, Rogers. You know that, so why are you looking at me like that?”

Tony didn’t have to see Steve’s face to know what he had smiled at Rumlow.

One second Rumlow was upright and the next he was on his knees wheezing after Steve’s foot expertly connected with his balls.

The guards holding Happy shifted their gaze, their weapons turned towards Steve.

Rumlow waved a hand at them. “No,” he wheezed. “Leave him. He’s _mine_. I’ll teach him the real meaning of pain.”

Steve picked up the briefcase and stumbled across the sand towards Bucky. He pressed his thumb to the scanner as he moved, wincing with every step. “Tony,” he shouted, his voice hoarse. “ _Incoming_!”

“Pep?” Tony said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out the clicker.

Pepper lifted her arms up. She held tightly onto Tony’s fingers. “Do it,” she said.

Tony pressed the clicker.

The briefcase tore itself apart in a flash of white and black; it flew through the air, hovering over top of Pepper’s t-shaped form as it waited for its cue. Silver sensor balls hovered around her; red laser points trailed over Pepper’s body and the dress’s train, mapping her body and clothes out. In an instant, the suit’s parts started moving, gathering everything up and carefully tucking it away as it assembled over Pepper’s body. This was the Wedding Rescue Armor. It had been made to look as though Pepper was wrapped in a mechanical dress; the metal curled around her curves delicately, all the while keeping her precious wedding dress safe from harm, leaving her legs and arms free for movement while being just as heavily protected. Sure, it wasn’t the most _maneuverable_ of suits considering it weighed almost eight hundred pounds, but Tony had built it to withstand a bomb blast, so he was sure that no matter what happened, Pepper and her dress would be safe. He let her fingers go so the suit could assemble her final gauntlet and stood back, admiring his work.

“Tony?” Pepper gasped through the open faceplate, looking confused. “I thought this was _your_ armor.”

“Oh, mine’s coming. Give it a minute and it’ll be right here,” Tony said, flapping a hand. He grinned at Pepper, relieved that he would soon be of use. “War Machine’s on its way too and it’s bringing a friend. Don’t wait for us – feel free to go stomp some asses. It’s your special day after all.”

Pepper let the faceplate close. “Alright,” she said, her voice mechanized and fierce. She turned to the men holding Happy hostage and charged her repulsors. “Give me back my husband you bastards, and I promise I won’t kill you.”

The three men were tough enough to not bolt for the hole in the wall, but they were eyed it. Once Pepper’s first blast hit, they opened fire back at her, yanking Happy closer to them as though his presence might protect them. Happy would have made for a good human shield, but the suit’s accuracy was far higher than any of the suits Tony had built before, and every blast she threw went exactly where it was meant to go.

Someone in the wedding party started screaming, drawing the snipers and remaining guards’ attention.

Tony took that as his cue to get moving. He launched himself off the stage and rolled out of the way, heading straight for Steve and Bucky. The Hydra grunts hiding around the room opened fire at a wave of Rumlow’s hand, sending bullets flying every which way. The wedding guests were lucky; with Pepper attacking the men holding Happy, most of the grunts attention was occupied on her.

Rumlow staggered upright, pulling his shock prods free from the sand. He looked livid; his nostrils flared. His face was an unpleasant shade of brick red. He turned on Tony, ignoring Steve and Bucky. “I don’t know why you’re rushing over here like you’re about to save the day, old man. You’re not so tough without your armor,” he growled.

The first swing missed Tony by an inch; he could feel the air moving as it passed him by. The second, nearly connected, sending electricity shimmering through the air. Tony knew it was only a matter of time before the blows started landing; he wasn’t nearly as good a fighter as the other Avengers when he _wasn’t_ wearing constricting formal wear – it was luck alone that had saved him. He grabbed a handful of sand as he slipped, avoiding yet another blow, and tossed it into Rumlow’s face. Steve wasn’t the only one who knew how to fight dirty, after all.

Rumlow snarled. Natasha scissor kicked him in the head and sent him flying. She dusted her hands off on her bare legs and glared down at Rumlow.

“I promised I wasn’t going to get blood on my dress until after the wedding,” Natasha said. “I guess I’m not going to be keeping that promise.” She cracked her knuckles. “You like the sound of that right? _Knuckles cracking_?” She back flipped through the air, smashed her heel into Rumlow’s chest so he couldn’t reach the shock prod he had been creeping towards. “How about some _other_ bones cracking – does that sound _good_ to you, you creep?”

Bucky got up slowly, his breathing labored. He dove on top of Steve when someone fired a round at him and yanked Tony out of the way of another shot.

“Avengers – Assemble!” Steve yelled from under Bucky’s arm.

“Duly noted, Captain,” Thor drawled. He raised his hand. Mjolnir came crashing through the wall beside them.

Tony couldn’t help grinning at the sight of Thor’s hand closing around Mjolnir’s handle. Thor let out a whoop of pleasure and soared up into the rafters, creating lightning above their heads; as usual, his strikes were well aimed and strong. He took out ten Hydra goons that had been trying to block the doors, and then soared across the room to pick off a sniper hiding trying to hide behind a large plastic clamshell, hitting him in the head with Mjolnir.

Rumlow rolled away from Natasha. He grabbed a chair and used it to block her next kick; it cracked down the middle. He spat out a mouthful of blood and scowled at the dark red he saw in the sand.

Rhodey directed the guests towards the walls with Clint and Coulson, corralling the most panicked before they could get in the way and get themselves killed. They hadn’t been fired on from outside the building, but it was a distinct possibility; if there had been snipers in the ceiling, there could very well be snipers outside.

Tony hoisted himself up on shaking arms and looked around. Steve and Bucky rose beside him, both of them covered in sand.

“So,” Tony said. “I take it SHIELD needs to revamp their hiring policy.”

“I don’t even want to be in the same _continent_ as Fury when he finds out about this,” Natasha said. She moved away from Rumlow, her movements graceful and smooth, and took up a position in front of Tony. She was unarmed, but no less deadly. “Fury handpicked everyone here. This shouldn’t be happening.”

“You’re telling me,” Tony grunted. When Rhodey grabbed him from behind, he nearly punched him in the face.

“Watch it,” Rhodey grumbled. “The bad guys are over _there_. Leave my beautiful face alone.”

“How many times have I told you not to _sneak up on me_?” Tony squawked.

“Oh, a good hundred or so. I’m sure Jarvis has the numbers,” Rhodey said. “I still think you need to take some hand to hand combat training, man.”

“Obviously,” Tony muttered. He grabbed Steve gently by the chin and clicked his tongue, looking over the damage Rumlow had done. “Jesus – your poor face.”

Steve grimaced. “It’ll heal,” he said.

“I know,” Tony sighed. “But the _wedding pictures_ – oh god. The wedding pictures are going to be _brutal_.”

“I’m sure Natasha can help smooth out most of the damage,” Bucky said. “Do me a favor.” He put his cybernetic hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Keep him away from Rumlow.” He began to roll up his sleeves.

“If you’re going to beat the shit out of him, can you please do it without the jacket on?” Tony said, cringing at the sight of the wrinkled suit.

Bucky scowled and pulled off his jacket. He tossed it to Tony. “Is there a reason why the jacket is so important?”

“It’ll hide the blood on your shirt later,” Tony said, neatly folding the jacket over his arm.

Bucky let out a snort; he smiled crookedly. “Fair enough,” he said. He threw himself into battle and took off after Rumlow and Natasha.

Rhodey scowled as he watched Natasha and Bucky attack Rumlow in unison; he looked up at Thor, having a field day shooting down Hydra goons and his scowl deepened. He drummed his fingers on his arm. “So, are we going to get suits or what? Because I’m starting to think there isn’t going to be anyone left by the time they get here,” he grumbled.

Tony rolled his eyes. “They’ll be here in – oh. Wait. Before they get here I should probably tell you –”

Three pods shot through the hole in the wall behind the stage, zipping through the air; one was red and gold, the other silver and the third dark blue with white stripes. Natasha and Bucky nimbly stepped out of the way; Rumlow didn’t notice and got hit in the back. He went face-first into the sand.

The red and gold pod hovered in front of Tony and sent out silver sensor balls. Red dots began to track their way over his face and arms.

“Hands out – T shaped,” Tony said.

Rhodey held his hands out without saying a word. The silver pod settled in front of Rhodey and got to work scanning him.

“You too Steve,” Tony said, when he noticed that Steve hadn’t moved.

Steve frowned and put his hands out. “What’s going on?”

The dark blue and white pod hovered in front of Steve.

“Ok,” Tony said, looking sheepish. “So this was kind of a surprise I was saving for later, Steve, but uh, I kind of made you a suit.”

The pods began to disassemble. The parts that appeared swirled around them, wrapping them up; in seconds, all three of them were sealed up safely. Rhodey and Tony were used to their respective suits, Steve on the other hand, looked absolutely floored. He stared down at his suit’s hands, seemingly amazed by what he was seeing.

“You built this for _me_?” Steve said, softly. His suit had been built to look like the stealth armor Tony had seen in SHIELD’s database of Captain America uniforms; the steal armor itself had never been built, and Steve had likely never seen it, yet it suited him all the same. The armor’s base paint was navy blue; there ware stripes of white over the chestplate, leading to a brilliant white star in the centre where the arc reactor sat nestled. His suit’s helmet had white wings drawn on the sides of it, just above the ears, and there was an A on the forehead of the faceplate.

“This way, you can keep up with the team,” Tony said, trying to be cheerful despite his frayed nerves. He faltered. “Not that I think you can’t keep up with us – I just mean now you can come out on the field. I mean the suit needs calibrating still, so it’s not going to be as responsive as you’d like it – I’m sorry about that. I was going to give it to you when we got home tonight, but I guess that plan’s kind of shot to shit now.”

“I love it,” Steve said. He grinned at Tony. His eyes were watering, and his split lip was bleeding a little, but he looked happier than he had in ages. “When we get back, you’re going to teach me everything about it,” he said.

All at once, Tony could see Captain America again – even if it was a substantially smaller Captain America. He grinned broadly, excited by what he saw. He rubbed his hands together. “You got it sweetheart,” he said. “Anything you want. I can’t wait.”

Rhodey chuckled; his faceplate snapped shut. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you just forgot that you were in the middle of a battlefield, Tony.”

Tony snorted; he pulled the faceplate down. “I know where I am,” he said. “Can you blame me for being excited? He likes the suit – all my favourite people have suits.”

Steve grinned; his faceplate closed, sealing him into the suit. “This is going to be _fun_ ,” he said.

“Alright,” Rhodey said. “What’s the plan?” He turned in a slow circle, his Gatling Gun whirling on his shoulder as it warmed up. “Looks like Clint and Coulson have the crowd rounded up. I’m not seeing any Hydra goons masquerading as SHIELD grunts on my sensors – what about you two?”

Tony frowned. Rhodey was right. Jarvis wasn’t picking up any enemies or friendlies – aside from the other Avengers – either. That did not bode well. All targets appeared to have been taken down but was it that easy? Had Hydra invested only a small force for their proverbial slap-fest?

“Tony?” Steve said, his voice bubbling through the comms into Tony’s ears.

“I’m reading you – did you spot anything strange?” Tony asked.

“Natasha and Bucky are down,” Steve said.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you spotted anything weird! : )


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumlow was going to suffer for what he had done - Tony was going to make sure of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you spot anything funky ; )

Tony felt like he was going to throw up. Strictly speaking, he had felt a little nauseous ever since he had found out that Pepper was getting married – he assumed it was mostly from the stress of knowing that she wouldn’t be living at the Tower anymore, and less from the fact that she was marrying Happy, of course – and while he hated the feeling, it hadn’t been completely  _ awful _ until now.  _ Now _ , that feeling had taken on a whole new level of horrible, because Steve was right. The fight had changed for the worse. 

Natasha and Bucky were  _ both _ down and if they wanted to survive, they would have to make the worst possible choice – to give Steve over to Hydra. Tony didn’t know how it had happened, or when, for that matter, Rumlow had gotten the upper hand, but it had happened and there was no getting around it this time. 

Bucky and Natasha were lying face down in the sand in front of the stage, still as death. At first, Tony thought that’s what had happened – that Rumlow had managed to break both of their necks, or shoot them somehow without Jarvis picking up on it – but after looking at the way Rumlow was standing, it was clear that while Natasha and Bucky were down, they weren’t even close to being dead. Rumlow had made sure he was keep himself close to Bucky and Natasha, close enough to touch them. He was grinning obscenely, holding something Tony recognized – something he had thought would never see the light of day again. Obadiah Stane had used the exact same thing on him once; it was both one of the best weapons he had ever built, and the worst.

“How the fuck did Rumlow get his hands on a Sonic Taser?” Tony growled, stomping forwards. Inside the suit, he was safe from the Sonic Taser’s harmful buzz, but outside, it could take down damn near _anyone_ with little to no fight. He had thought that the Taser’s blueprints had been destroyed with the last of the prototypes – hell, he had done the destroying himself – but apparently, Hydra had far reaching tentacles.

Rumlow scowled at Tony. “Stay back, Stark,” he growled. He held the Sonic Taser in between his thumb and forefinger and aimed it at Tony.

Tony chuckled darkly as Jarvis scanned the Taser. Hydra had gotten the end product right, but the Taser wasn’t built to the original specs. Its range was _horribly_ off. It needed some serious tweaking before it could come even close to what it had originally been; no one past Bucky’s left foot and Natsha’s hip would hear the Taser’s beckoning call at all. Pepper and the men on the stage were still fighting it out, unaware that anything had changed, and the wedding party was just as unaware. No wonder they hadn’t noticed something was wrong until it was too late. The Taser was woefully underpowered.

Unfortunately, weak prototype or no, Rumlow had the upper hand. He had a gun in his other hand and had it pointed at Bucky’s head. At this range, there would be nothing to stop him from hitting Bucky dead on. Rumlow delicately put his foot on Natasha’s throat, and let out a low whistle. Everyone turned to face him, startled by the piercing, sound.

Rumlow bared his bloody teeth. “Alright – here’s the deal, chumps. I have soldiers outside waiting to see me walk out of here with Captain Rogers. They have a bomb under their control, one strong enough to take out this entire building and the next ten blocks around it. Think I’m bluffing? Go ahead – attack me and see.”

“Jarvis? Scan the area for explosives now,” Tony growled. He didn’t want Rumlow to be right, but he wouldn’t have been surprised to find out that there were men hiding outside, waiting to blow them all sky high.

“Searching now,” Jarvis said.

“I’m not seeing anything,” Rhodey said. “What about you, Rogers?”

“There’s nothing around from what I can see,” Steve said.

“Don’t spend too long deciding what to do, Stark. You won’t find anything until it’s too late, and you know it. You have one choice,” Rumlow said. “Hand over Steve Rogers and everyone here will be free to go. I’ll even let the asset stay here – my gift to you.”

Tony scowled. “Jarvis?”

“I am unable to locate anything within the requested location. If there is an explosive, it may be shielded,” Jarvis said.

“Or it might be bullshit,” Rhodey muttered.

“We can’t see it, but it might be there,” Steve said, softly. “Can we risk it?”

“Don’t even think about handing yourself over, Steve,” Pepper said, her voice crackling through the comms. “Rumlow’s a lying sack of shit.”

“But what if he’s not?” Steve said. “Is that how you want your wedding to end? With everyone here dead? Because that’s why Hydra will do if they don’t get what they want – they’ll kill everyone – wipe this place off the map. I can’t let them do it.”

“Steve,” Tony said, softly. “They’ll tear you apart piece by piece looking for the serum. They’ll kill you.”

“I know, but I can’t stand by and watch them kill everyone here. If they blow that bomb, we might survive because we’re in the suits, but what about all these people around us?” Steve said. “What about Bucky and Natasha? What about Clint and Coulson? What about your _mother_ , Rhodes? Would you sacrifice your mother?”

Rhodey sighed.

“I have to do this,” Steve said.

“I know,” Tony said. His heart seized in his chest; he hadn’t felt this afraid since he had been in the Skull’s grasp all those months ago. He didn’t want to agree to this – not if it meant losing Steve to Hydra – but he knew that if there _was_ a bomb somewhere and people were in danger, Steve would do what he thought was right, consequences be damned.

They couldn’t trust Rumlow, but they couldn’t ignore him either. The bomb could be a big, fat, _lie_ but it could also be a big fat fucking _fact_ and they couldn’t risk it. There were a good hundred people here, not even counting the people outside in the blast zone, going about their day completely unaware to what was going on – those people needed to get out of here alive. This wasn’t their fight.

Someone cleared their throat loudly behind Tony.

He jumped inside the suit; Steve and Rhodey turned, just as confused and startled as Tony. Even Rumlow’s attention was drawn.

Doctor Doom stood up slowly, as though the mere act of rising was tiring. He took a moment to sigh and dust his metal thighs off before calmly setting his empty champagne glass down on the one seat beside him that had miraculously remained intact. “I believe I have waited long enough for the Avengers to solve this problem by themselves,” Doom said. “Ms. Potts? Doom sincerely apologizes for if there is more damage done to your wedding, but there is little to be done about it. Doom his afraid he will have to step in.”

Warning sirens blared in Tony’s helmet, almost deafening him. One moment they staring at Rumlow’s ugly mug and the next there were robots around them – _everywhere_. The running tally was one hundred by the time Jarvis managed to get a bead on the bots and that number was climbing rapidly as new waves began to flood through the holes in the walls. There were bots in the sewer systems below them, in the surrounding buildings and all over the block. It burned Tony’s ass that he hadn’t seen the damn bots coming in the first place. For a whole ten one hundredths of a second, Tony worried that Victor Von Doom was about to kill them all.

The battle changed instantly; Rumlow no longer had the upper hand even though his gun was still pointed at Bucky’s head, and he knew it.

Doom’s bots darted past the Avengers and guests and got to work, merciless and brutally efficient. They threw themselves through the air, attaching to Rumlow’s arms and legs and began hitting him. He struggled against them, trying to shoot at them, but it was no use. His gun was ripped from his fingers and crushed in a bot’s clever hands; the Sonic Taser flew through the air and was crushed under another bot’s foot.

Doom sighed and shook his head. “Doom finds Hydra’s lack of respect pitiful,” he said. “This is a _wedding_ , not some kind of bareknuckle boxing match.”

Rumlow let out a high pitched scream as he was squashed against the floor by three bipedal bots. Two bots that seemed to have been designed to look like wolves grabbed Rumlow’s arms with their metal teeth, drawing blood. Rumlow glared up at Doom, his eyes filled with fury, his face splattered with blood from a cut in his scalp. “You think I’m _bluffing_?” he hissed.

“Oh, I know you weren’t bluffing. That little bomb of yours was disabled twenty minutes ago,” Doom snorted, drumming his fingers on his forearm.

The Hydra grunt who had survived Pepper’s attacks was cowed by a jumping wolf-bot and pinned to the ground with a high pitched scream. Doom walked towards the stage, the sand crunching beneath his metal boots. He looked down at the officiator and let out a long suffering sigh. “I’m afraid your officiator will not be waking up soon,” he said. “My apologies, Ms. Potts.”

Pepper opened up her faceplate. “Is she alright?”

“She appears to be unconscious but unharmed,” Doom said. He stepped out of the way as Coulson walked over to the officiator to check her out.

“That’s probably the best outcome we could hope for at this point,” Pepper said. She smiled when one of Doom’s bots helped Happy up and practically carried him over to her. “Thank god you’re alright,” she said. She straightened Happy’s hair, sighing softly at the way it was streaked with sweat and grime.

“Hydra is filled with hotheaded, brainless cretins. The ones who built the bomb they intended to use – which would have obliterated the Latverian Embassy as well, I might add – was so poorly constructed, my lowliest servant could have taken it apart.” Doom shook his head. “If the Red Skull wasn’t already imprisoned, Doom would be hunting him down all over again.”

“I guess we owe you one,” Tony said, flipping up his faceplate.

Doom sighed wearily. “Do not remind me of your failures, Stark. Now is not the time.”

Tony chuckled. The nasty twist in his gut slowly eased; he breathed in a long, slow, breath and let it out through his nose. They were safe. Hydra had been about to blow them up, but they were safe, and there was nothing left to fight – not with Doom on their side.

Pepper gazed fondly into Happy’s eyes. “I know this might sound a little crazy, but I still want to get married here,” she said. “I know it’s a little messy, but we’re here now – we’re together, and that’s what really matters.”

Happy grinned. “And hey, no one can crash the wedding now. That won’t happen twice in one day, right?”

Pepper laughed. “Now if only we had someone to officiate the wedding,” she said.

Doom sighed again. “I suppose I can wait a few more minutes before I return to the embassy if you insist on being married in this hellhole.”

Tony locked the suit’s knees. He wrapped an arm around Steve’s shoulder, wishing he could feel Steve’s warmth beneath his fingers. He let out a shaky breath, glancing down at Natasha and Bucky. The pair were getting to their feet, and although they were wobbly and grimacing, they looked no worse for wear. Everyone had survived.

Natasha rubbed absently at her throat before smacking Bucky in the shoulder.

Bucky yelped.

“I _told_ you to jump back,” Natasha muttered. She said something under her breath in Russian and glared at Bucky.

“How was I supposed to know that stupid sound of his was dangerous?” Bucky muttered, rubbing at his shoulder.

Natasha straightened her dress, scowling at the blood splattered along the side of her left leg. “Look at what you did,” she said, pursing her lips.

“I didn’t do _that_ ,” Bucky grumbled. “That was all Rumlow. It’s not like blood magically appeared out of thin air you know.”

“I know it was Rumlow,” Natasha snorted. “But you’re the one who punched him in the face.” She jabbed a delicately manicured finger into Bucky’s chest, making him wince. “You could have turned him the other way before you decked him like that.”

“Next time I’ll remember to coordinate the blood splatter – happy?” Bucky snapped.

Natasha shrugged her shoulders and turned away from Bucky. “It’s fine. I was prepared for this.”

“You were?” Tony said, cocking an eyebrow. “I mean, being the Maid of Honor sounds like a rough gig but what made you think you’d need to get blood out of something at a time like this?’

“I had a feeling someone was going to attack,” Natasha said, stalking closer. She paused beside Pepper, suddenly looking hesitant. It was perhaps the first time Tony have ever really seen her look that way; she was biting at her lower lip, and her eyes were a bit too wide, as though she was frightened.

Maybe he was reading things wrong – Natasha was never frightened of anything.

“Natasha? Are you alright?” Pepper asked, frowning.

“I can officiate,” Natasha said. “I got myself ordained three weeks ago just in case.”

Pepper’s eyes widened. “You did?”

Natasha shrugged again. “It was easy. It’s not a big deal,” she said. “It’s standard operating procedure to be prepared for all outcomes.”

Pepper let go of Happy as she burst into tears. She lunged forwards, her arms wrapping around Natasha’s slender waist and pressed a wet kiss to Natasha’s cheek. “Thank you,” she said, her voice raw. “You’re the best Maid of Honor _ever_.”

Natasha shifted in place. “It’s what you would have done if it was for one of us,” she said.

“Still,” Pepper said, smiling through her tears. She let Natasha go slowly, as though not wanting to pull away. “You can officiate our wedding?”

“Yes,” Natasha said. “If you want me to.”

Pepper turned to Happy. Happy grinned at her.

“We would be _honored_ if you would officiate for us,” Pepper said, clearing her throat. She wiped her eyes on her gauntleted fingers, and then let out a laugh when she realized what she had done. “Oh god – my make up’s a mess now. Oh fuck it – I want to get married.”

Happy nodded. “What she said. Marry us.”

Natasha smiled sharply. “Ok. Good,” she said.

“So how do we do this?” Pepper asked, looking around at the carnage. Her perfect wedding hall wasn’t quite so perfect anymore, but there was still room to gather around if they pulled together. She rested her gauntleted hands on her hips and frowned at the singed and battered decorations. “I suppose we’re going to move a few things,” she said after a moment of quiet contemplation. She stared icily at Rumlow, who was still squirming in Doom’s bot’s grasp. Her smile turned beatific, with just a hint of malevolence. “We can’t leave unwanted guests just lying around, after all. He looks like he could use some rope.”

“That’s an understatement,” Rhodey chuckled. “Give us ten minutes and we’ll have a place cleared.” He nodded to Tony and Steve. “Let’s do this, gentlemen.”

 

 

Rumlow was dealt with first; no one wanted to risk him escaping after what he had done. Natasha gladly took the black rope Clint handed over – god knows where he had found it – and trussed Rumlow up so he couldn’t move an inch. When she was done, she dusted off her hands and smiled down at him, pleased by the look of irritation and resignation on his face. “Look how pretty he looks,” she said. “Rope suits him.”

Bucky snickered. “He looks like he could use a nice rope necklace too. Maybe they’ll give him one back at SHIELD HQ.”

“I sure hope so,” Natasha growled, giving Rumlow a swift kick in the balls. “Coulson’s called everything in already, but we’ll keep him here until we’re ready to hand him over.” She completed Rumlow’s humiliation by stuffing a handkerchief she had stolen from Rhodey into Rumlow’s mouth so he couldn’t speak and then stepped back to admire her handiwork again.

Rumlow glowered up at her and tried to say something, his words lost in the fabric. Natasha’s grin widened.

The cleanup began in earnest after that.

Tony, Rhodey, Bucky and Steve tossed broken chairs and decorations into piles along the sides of the room, clearing space. They stamped down the sand so no one would slip and neatly kicked the blood drops out of sight. The wedding guests stumbled through the wreckage of the wedding hall, huddling together with Coulson and Clint guiding them to their places. They were covered in dust and grime, weary and their adrenaline was ebbing, yet they were smiling at one another, albeit it nervously, still ready to celebrate. They gathered in a ring, making room for Doom, and stood guarded by Doom’s bots. Thor and Bruce settled beside the stage, content to watch from a distance while Clint and Coulson prowled the perimeter, listening from a far but still keenly watching the main event.

“Jarvis?” Tony said. “Do me a favor – start recording and taking pictures.”

“Starting now, sir,” Jarvis said. “And might I add, congratulations, Mrs. Potts and Mr. Hogan, on your wedding.”

“Thank you Jarvis,” Pepper chuckled. “I’m glad you’re here to take pictures. I think the photographer we hired ran out of here with his tail between his legs an hour ago.”

“I am honored to take his place,” Jarvis said, dryly, his voice bubbling from Pepper’s suit’s speakers.

Pepper and Happy moved together, holding hands. Natasha stood beside them, watching the crowd. The flower girl and ring bearer slunk closer, holding hands, reappearing from where they had been hiding behind their mother’s legs. The ring bearer held up the tiny pillow where the rings had been neatly tied and handed them over before dashing away with his sister at his side.

Doom let out a sullen harrumph, but didn’t otherwise speak. He did, however, pull out a cellphone from his armor and start taking pictures.

Happy untied the rings from the pillow; he tossed it away into the rubble with a nervous laugh and held the rings in his hand. “You ready, Pep?” he said.

Pepper smiled. “I’m ready,” she said.

Natasha cleared her throat. “Do we want to do this the quick way, or the long way?” she asked.

Pepper hummed softly. “You know,” she said, “I don’t really feel like drawing this out any more than we need to – not after everything that’s happened.”

Happy chuckled. “I’m with you on that. I mean, I still want to say our vows and all that, but I don’t think we need any big speeches and all that crap – unless someone wants to do that.”

“Might I make a toast?” Thor asked, tentatively.

“Of course,” Pepper said. “We’d love it if you did.”

Thor cleared his throat. “This is the first wedding I have witnessed on Midgard, and I admit that at first I thought the attack was something that was supposed to happen,” he confessed. “In Asgard, weddings are a time for battle as well as celebration – partners often compete to see what their lives will be like after preforming their marriage vows.” He set Mjolnir down by his feet. “You have fought admirably, Pepper Potts. The same to you, Happy Hogan. If you were in Asgard, we would spend five days and five nights drinking to your union, but as we are in Midgard,” Thor said, his eyes twinkling, “I shall instead conform to your traditions and simply wish you and your beloved the best.”

Pepper wiped her eyes. “Thank you, Thor,” she said, her voice cracking.

“Thanks,” Happy said. “You really think we’d fight good enough to impress someone on Asgard?”

“Verily,” Thor said.

Happy grinned, delighted by the news. “I think that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me – aside from yes, of course,” he said, looking directly into Pepper’s eyes.

“Alright,” Natasha said, her lips quirking up at the corners. “Does anyone else want to give a speech or can we get on with it?”

“I think we’re good to go,” Tony said.

“You’re not going to give a speech, Stark?” Natasha asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Nah,” Tony said. “If I do that I’m going to start blubbering, and I’d rather be able to see the wedding.”

“Fair enough,” Natasha said. She turned to Pepper and Happy. “Do you two have your vows?”

“We do,” Pepper said.

Tony’s eyes began to water; he leaned closer to Steve and Rhodey, needing the contact even though they were only bumping shoulders through their suits. Despite the lull in combat, they hadn’t bothered to strip out of their armor. Pepper was still wearing her Rescue armor even though she had a perfectly good dress underneath. There would be no risks taken now – not again, today, at least.

“Who wants to go first?” Natasha asked.

“I’ll go,” Happy said. He looked at the crowd, his cheeks going faintly pink as though he had been doused with paint. “I uh… I’ve been thinking about this a lot the past few days. I’m not good with words – that’s why I used to punch things for a living,” he said.

Tony and Rhodey chuckled.

Pepper smiled, her eyes locked on Happy.

Happy shuffled in place. “So I knew it was going to be hard to get out what I wanted to say. I mean, I know Pep knows I love her – that’s a given. She wouldn’t have said yes if she didn’t,” he said, rolling his shoulders. He looked a little like he was waiting to step into a boxing ring the way he was swaying in place. “I’ve loved you for a long time, Pep, long before we got together. You’ve been the light in my life for years, and you’ll always be my light. I want to be with you forever.”

Pepper’s eyes sparkled in the dim light. She sniffled. “Oh Happy,” she whispered.

Happy beamed and wiped at his eyes. “I just wanted you to know that. I know I haven’t really said it in front of everybody like this and all, but I think it all the damn time. You’re my light – my life. You’re the one I always want to come home to. I love ya, Pep.” He squeezed her hands and took a slow step backwards. “Ok. Your turn.”

Pepper let out a soft laugh. “Ok,” she said. She wiped idly at her eyes and gave her head a shake. She rubbed at her forearm and then seemed to remember that she couldn’t feel it. “I used to dream that I’d find the perfect man when I was little,” she said, slowly. “I knew it wasn’t going to happen, because who gets perfect all the time? Life isn’t always fair, but I was lucky. I have a good life, a good boss who only _occasionally_ embarrassed me and himself in front of the entire world – things were as good as it was going to get, or so I thought.” She turned and smirked at Tony. “I think I thought there would be a day when romance would come in and sweep me off my feet – and when it didn’t happen, I didn’t know what else to do with my life other than to simply live. I went to work, did my job and tried not to think about it. There wasn’t any sweeping,” she said. “There was just Happy, there, waiting patiently while I tried to figure out what I was doing.”

Happy’s grin turned dopey.

Pepper cleared her throat. “I love you Happy. There wasn’t any sweeping, because you were always there, keeping me safe – you didn’t need to do anything extra to win me over. Every day, I came to work I felt safe and cared for, and while I might not have known what that meant back then, I know what it means now.” She squeezed Happy’s hand. “I am honored to spend my life with you. I want to spend every day and every night by your side. I know that things will be tough – I’m going to do my job, as stressful and tiring as that can be, every day until I’m old and grey and I’m sick of it. I know you’ll stay by my side. We’re a good team, you and me. I love you Happy Hogan.”

Happy swallowed hard. “That’s sure something,” he said, his voice cracking. “I love you too, Pep. Every day, no matter what.”

“You’d _better_ ,” Tony grumbled.

Rhodey let out a snort and smacked Tony in the shoulder. “Tony!”

Pepper let out a giggle and leaned forwards, pressing her forehead to Happy’s. Happy grinned at her.

“Pepper, do you take Happy as your lawfully wedded husband?” Natasha asked.

“I do,” Pepper said.

“And Happy – do you take Pepper as your lawfully wedded wife?” Natasha asked.

“I do,” Happy said.

“Then by the power invested in me by the internet and the government, I now pronounce you man and wife,” Natasha said. “You can kiss the bride, unless someone has something awful to say and a death wish.”

Happy and Pepper leaned in and kissed.

“May your union be fertile and prosperous for all of your days,” Thor said, clapping his hands.

“Agreed,” Doom growled.

The crowed let out a loud cheer; everyone started clapping.

Doom’s eyes were surprisingly wet-looking when he put his camera away.

Steve and Tony bumped shoulders again as they watched Pepper and Happy share another tender kiss.

“Oh my god,” Rhodey said, his voice squeaking. “She got _married_!”

“Oh my god,” Tony said, sniffling. “She did – she got married!”

Rhodey burst into tears; Tony and Steve followed soon after.

 

 

They gathered together and watched as Rumlow and the rest of the Hydra goons were stuffed into vans to be shipped back to SHIELD HQ, this time as prisoners instead of Agents. The wedding guests dispersed slowly, everyone moving away from the wedding hall under directions murmured by the SHIELD agents who had been brought in to take over damage control. They would be gathering at Avalon, quiet but top-notch restaurant Tony had bought out, to continue the wedding festivities even though the bride and groom weren’t going to be joining them.

Things were looking up. The crowd outside was almost non-existent; if Tony hadn’t known better, he might have thought there was some kind of horrible storm on the loose, ready to trap them in its icy embrace. SHIELD had done its part, at long last. There were no paparazzi waiting in the bushes, no jerks with camera phones idly pacing nearby; everything was blessedly, silent.

Tony was tired; his feet ached, and he had a feeling he wasn’t the only one wanting to head home and sit down on a nice, soft couch. He was glad that they had plans already in motion, and that the Avengers, for once, didn’t have to be on clean-up duty tonight. The wedding hall was a complete disaster, and it was going to take _hours_ to clean up the debris that was littered both inside and outside the building. He was going to have to write the owner a big cheque to cover this clusterfuck. He didn’t want Pepper stuck with that bill. She wanted to pay for her wedding, sure, but even she couldn’t pay off an entire _building_ on her own, even with Happy’s money padding their joint bank account. He got Jarvis started on sending the right documentation to his lawyers so they could make sure no one would go after Pepper, and let out a long, weary, yawn. He wanted to go home, but their limo was still waiting in the parking lot, and they couldn’t drive it – not without a proper drivers licence. He rubbed his gauntleted hand over his face. Weddings were supposed to stretch on forever, but they weren’t supposed to be this tiring – or were they? He was pretty sure people usually spent the night dancing and eating after weddings, but he didn’t really feel like doing either of those things.

Pepper let out a sneeze and wiped at her nose. “You know, I forgot how dusty smashed up buildings can be,” she mused. Happy chuckled; his arm was wrapped around Pepper’s shoulder, and he looked more than a little nervous now that he was face to face with the remains of Rumlow and Hydra’s attack.

“Ok, well I don’t know about you, but my dogs are barking. Let’s get the hell out of here,” Rhodey said. “I’ve got a mom waiting to be escorted back to her hotel and you guys have a honey moon to get to.” He wrapped his arms awkwardly around Pepper, the both of them still wearing their armor, and then gave Happy a gentle, reassuring pat. “Take care you two,” he said.

Rhodey cleared his throat before wrapping his arms around Tony and giving him a rough hug, one that made their armors clank together. “And you two had better take care of yourselves too,” he said, nodding to Steve. “I don’t want to hear about you two streaking naked through town, or getting caught having sex in some public library. Keep it safe and in your pants.”

“Don’t worry,” Tony said with a grin. “Steve’ll keep me out of trouble.”

Rhodey chuckled and let Tony go. “Teach him to use that suit of his and I’ll stop worrying,” he said.

Steve rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry. He’s going to be teaching me all sorts of stuff while we’re gone. I’m sure we can fit that into our busy schedule.”

Rhodey barked out a laugh and gave Steve a rough hug, nearly lifting him off of his feet, suit and all. “Good luck.”

“Same to you,” Tony said, looking over his shoulder where he could see Rhodey’s mother busy tapping her foot. “I have a feeling you’re going to get an earful when you’re back at her hotel.”

“I’ll be lucky if she waits that long,” Rhodey grumbled. He patted Tony’s shoulder, nodded to Bucky, who was lurking in the distance and headed off to join his mother. “See you all later.”

Pepper waved to Rhodey’s mother. “Thanks for coming!” she called out.

Rhodey’s mother’s smile was blinding. “I was glad to be here, Virginia. Let’s have dinner the next time you’re in town,” she yelled back. “We can even take the boys out if they’re behaving themselves.”

“You’ve got it!” Pepper shouted.

Tony chuckled. “I love how you two always have your conversations from a distance.”

Pepper shrugged. “I talk with her on the phone all the time,” she said. “We don’t really have to see each other to share the love.” She rolled her shoulders.

“The suit’s heavy, isn’t it,” Tony said with a sigh. He pinched the bridge of his nose. He had known it was going to be heavy to begin with, but he had hoped that it wouldn’t cause any problems. He didn’t want Pepper spraining any muscles _before_ her honeymoon had even started– that would be a real mood breaker.

“It’s a little heavier than my normal armor, but it’s not that bad,” Pepper said. “I’d love to get going now though. What time is it, Jarvis?”

“It is just after five p.m., Mrs. Potts-Hogan,” Jarvis said. “The decoy couple has already headed off to the airport and have reported that the paparazzi have been following them every step of the way. There has been no news about the attack on your wedding, and I believe that is driving them to follow the decoy couple rather than remaining at the scene to view the cleanup.”

“Oh _great_ ,” Tony grumbled. “I bet they think I did something horrible.”

Pepper smirked. “Let them stew,” she said. She pressed a kiss to Happy’s cheek. “Can you drive us home, honey?”

Happy cracked his knuckles. “I can do that,” he said. “Who’s coming with us?”

“I’ll head back with you, if you don’t mind,” Bucky grunted.

“Same here,” Natasha said. “I need to take a shower.”

“We’ll come too,” Tony said, squeezing Steve’s shoulder. “We’ve got to get ready to head out, after all. It’ll be easier to sneak off if we do it now without someone spotting the new suit.”

“Good point,” Happy said. “Let’s get moving.”

 

They piled into the elevator after clanking their way through the underground parking lot. The drive had been quiet and while there had been traffic, no one had been following them.

“Where to now?” Happy asked, leaning against the elevator wall. He hid a yawn behind his arm.

“I’m thinking we hit the workshop first,” Tony said. “I don’t know about you, but I want out of this tin can.”

“Agreed,” Pepper said.

Steve nodded. “It’s nice and all, but I think I’d rather get out of these clothes before they get any more wrinkled than they already are.”

“Good point,” Pepper said. “My dress is probably a mess. She sighed mournfully. “I think there was a couple of blood drops on it before the suit got to me. I hope they’ll wash out.”

“I’m sure the drycleaner can get it out,” Happy said. “I’m going to find a couch and crash. Call me when you’re ready to go and I’ll go get our luggage loaded up.”

Pepper kissed Happy on the lips once as the elevator doors opened up to the penthouse. Happy stepped out, waving sleepily.

“I’m going to head back to my floor,” Bucky muttered, jabbing his floor’s number. He shuffled over to the door, his back to the group and stepped out when the elevator got to his floor. “See you later,” he grunted.

“See you later,” Steve called out as the elevator doors closed.

Pepper frowned, glancing at Steve. “Is he alright? He looks a little _off_.”

“I don’t know,” Steve said, shaking his head. “He’s looked like that the entire ride home. I’m hoping it’s just because he’s tired.”

“I hope so too,” Pepper said, pursing her lips. “He’ll talk to one of the other Avengers if something is wrong, right?”

“I sure hope so,” Steve said. He looked up at Tony, gnawing on his lower lip.

“He’s a big boy, Steve,” Tony said. “If he needs help, we’re just a phone call away. Besides, he knows where we’re going – he’s been there. If he _really_ needs to see us, he’ll find a way to get to the Beach House.”

“I guess you’re right,” Steve said.

The elevator doors opened. They stepped out and ambled into the workshop, heading over to the disassembly machine and the armor rack sat waiting.

 

 

Tony fidgeted on the edge of his bed. They had been stripped from the armor for almost an hour now, and he still felt like he was wearing it. His body was sore all over, and he doubted that that would change any time soon, not after meeting the business end of Rumlow’s shock prod. They would be heading to the Quinjet waiting upstairs soon. Natasha had commandeered one for them when she had found out that everyone was planning on driving down to the Beach Houses. She had insisted – it was the least SHIELD could do, considering the royal fuckup that had happened at the wedding hall – and no one had been able to resist the offer.

There were three briefcases sitting in front of Tony, along with three suitcases and a bag filled with snacks. They were almost ready to go, but Steve was taking his sweet time in the bathroom and there was no way to know how long the wait might be.

Tony was pretty sure Steve was talking to Bucky on the phone. He hadn’t wanted to butt in or spy on them using Jarvis, but it had been tempting. If Bucky needed someone to talk to, this was the time to do it, he mused. He would rather have Steve stepping away now than when they were doing something a little more _personal_. He was looking forward to not having Bucky around for a while. As sweet as he was, Bucky was starting to get on his nerves. Alone time with Steve was something he had been looking forward to for weeks now, and he didn’t want to lose that time.

Tony rolled his suit’s briefcase’s handle in his palm and tried not to yawn; he had no intention of falling asleep and delaying their trip. He and Steve were both taking briefcase versions of their armor so that Steve could practice using it and Pepper’s Rescue armor would be tagging along too – he just hadn’t managed to hand it off to Pepper yet. The happy couple was still doing their own packing down in Pepper’s floor, and he hadn’t wanted to disturb them until they were ready to leave – he knew what it felt like to be walked in on, after all. Tony hoped they would be finished soon.

Finally, Steve stepped out of the bathroom. He tucked his phone away in his pocket, looking guilty. “Sorry,” he said. “I had to check up on him.”

Tony gave a snort and shook his head, trying to wake himself up. He had nodded off, but he didn’t know how long he had been sleeping upright. He yawned into his arm, his jaw cracking and shrugged, not feeling energetic enough to do much more than that. “It’s fine,” he said. “If he needs to talk, he needs to talk.”

Steve stepped carefully around the suitcases and briefcases and tucked himself between Tony’s knees. He pressed a kiss to Tony’s lips, the touch light and gentle. “I’ll try to keep my worrying to a minimum,” he said. “This is our vacation, after all.”

“That it is,” Tony said, wrapping an arm around Steve’s lower back. He gave Steve a kiss, letting the touch linger and nuzzled Steve’s cheek, pulling him in closer so they were wrapped in each other’s arms and there was no distance between them. He was glad that Steve was here – that Steve was safe, and healthy and out of Hydra’s grasp. The thought of losing Steve again had been almost too much to bear – the thought of Hydra getting their hands on him again had pulled the air from his lungs and crushed his heart. He smoothed his hands down Steve’s back, allowing himself to worry only a little, afraid that it might show and Steve might decide it was safer to stay at the Tower.

“Tony?” Steve murmured, his lips close to Tony’s ears.

“Yeah, honey?” Tony said.

“If we leave now, we can have the whole morning to ourselves,” Steve said. “Just think – we can sleep in or maybe, do something else.”

Tony grinned and stood, hoisting Steve into the air.

Steve let out a laugh and wrapped his arms around Tony’s neck and his legs around Tony’s waist. “I take it you like that idea?”

“Sweetheart,” Tony drawled, his fingers digging into the meat of Steve’s ass, “I love that idea.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! :D I hope you liked this chapter. I increased the chapters to five - just so people know!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally - they would get the vacation they had been waiting for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I broke this chapter up, so it's actually six chapters now instead of five. xD Let me know if you spot anything funky!

Their flight to the Beach Houses was _obscenely_ comfortable, even though they were in a Quinjet that had been designed for stealth missions and not a luxury aircraft; Tony and Steve fell asleep tangled in each other’s arms. Happy nodded off five minutes after he sat down and spent the entire trip drooling on one of the arm rests. Pepper, unlike everyone else, remained awake and on her tablet. She stared at it almost non-stop, working on something. The last time Tony had caught sight of her before drifting off for good, her lips had been pursed in displeasure and she had been jabbing at her tablet’s touch screen as though it had offended her somehow.

Tony woke slowly, drifting back to wakefulness, surrounded in warmth. He stretched, cracking his back, and looked around the Quinjet’s passenger cabin as it began to descend onto the beach. Nothing much had changed during his nap, aside from their location – or at least that’s what he hoped had happened. “What’d I miss?” he asked.

“It seems the paparazzi got their _pictures_ after all,” Pepper said through gritted teeth. She stood up, leaving Happy’s side, and sat down beside Tony, swaying as the Quinjet settled on the sand. “Look what they’re saying,” she said, holding out her tablet. “I can’t believe these shit-weasels think they can get away with publishing this.”

Tony scowled down at the picture she had pulled up and enlarged. It was of him helping her fix her wedding dress, although from the first angle it was hard to tell who the helper was because half of him couldn’t be seen. “That was fast,” he said, scrolling through the images. Some of the stills were crystal clear – far better quality than he had expected. He wondered who the hell had sold the shots so willingly. Almost everyone at the wedding had been personally vetted by both Pepper and Happy; the attendees were friends, family – people Pepper had known for her entire life. They were people that Pepper had an awful lot of trust in – trust that had likely been broken now that the pictures had surfaced. Who could have done this to Pepper?

“We’re suing, obviously,” Pepper drawled. Her eye were glinting like steel, and Tony had a sneaking suspicion that if she got her hands on the phantom photographer, she would strangle them _personally_ , legal system be damned.

“Good,” Tony said. He flipped to another picture from the same site, one taken with Pepper’s dress lifted up into the air. There was a lovely strip of bare thigh to gander at in this one. Pepper’s garter was clearly visible, lace and all, and Tony’s face was smooshed up against her lovely legs. “You might want to call Natasha and tell her to not outright _murder_ anyone yet. I mean, this is the worst invasion of privacy I’ve seen in years, but I think even the paparazzi will figure it out if their gift-giver goes missing so quickly.”

Pepper chuckled darkly. “I’m going to have to think about that,” she said. She let out a breath through her nose, and shook her head, her hair dancing about in front of her face. “I really hate people sometimes. Did you see what those bastards titled their article?”

Tony let out a sharp laugh. “ _Tony Stark has eyes on CEO Virginia Pott’s future – will the Hogan Potts marriage last?_ ”

“It’s disgusting,” Pepper growled.

“It’s not entirely unexpected either, though,” Tony said, handing her back her tablet. “They always think I’m a giant whoremonger. Maybe they think I’m trying to steal your womb? I mean, what the fuck does ‘eyes on CEO Virginia Pott’s future’ mean anyway?”

“You know, I wouldn’t put it past them to think something that twisted,” Pepper sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You’re not going to break up my marriage – or rent out my womb. Good god – what is _wrong_ with people?”

“Plenty,” Tony said, patting Pepper on the shoulder. “But for now, let the lawyers deal with it. This is your _honeymoon_ , Pep. Have some fun – take Happy skinny dipping or something. Go fly kites – have lots of kinky sex on every surface in your beach house. Enjoy it – flaunt it – flaunt it somewhere I can’t see it, because I really don’t need to see Happy’s junk.”

Pepper swatted Tony in the shoulder. “You’re one to talk. He’s probably seen your junk, as you so eloquently put it, as often as his own.” She wrinkled her nose. “I can’t believe I just said that.”

“Let’s not think about that,” Tony chuckled.

Pepper glanced over at Steve, who wasn’t showing any signs of stirring in his sleep. “What’s he going to think about all this?” she asked, softly.

Tony shrugged. “About the pictures? Or Happy’s junk being on display?”

“The _pictures_ ,” Pepper grumbled, swatting Tony in the shoulder again.

“I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see,” Tony said.

“He knows the paparazzi make stuff up all the time,” Pepper sighed. “I just hope he doesn’t panic when he sees the _other_ pictures they put up.”

Tony snatched Pepper’s tablet back. “What pictures?”

Pepper prodded a second tab, opening it up. There, for all the world to see, was a picture of Steve on the tips of his toes, kissing Tony on the lips.

“That’s _adorable_ ,” Tony said, smiling down at the picture. “A total invasion of privacy, but _adorable_. I want a copy of that for my wall.”

Pepper rolled her eyes, and smiled in exasperation. “You’re not worried at all, are you?”

“Nope,” Tony said. “I was kind of hoping I’d get a chance to take some pictures of us together at the wedding – I guess they did my job for me.”

“I’m sure Jarvis will buy the picture for you if you ask nicely,” Pepper said.

“He’s probably already bought it, knowing him,” Tony said. “I’m the luckiest man ever. I have great friends, an AI that can practically read my mind and the sexiest boyfriend in the world.”

Steve opened one eye. “Sexiest boyfriend in the world?” he said.

Tony grinned and showed Steve the picture.

“I think I can live with that if you get me a copy too,” Steve said, sitting up. “Are we here already?”

Pepper smiled softly. “We’re here,” she said. She stood slowly as the Quinjet’s hatch unlocked with an almost deafening click. The engine shut off, and suddenly it was just them and the soft sound of water lapping against the beach.

Tony stood up and helped Steve to his feet, his hands lingering on Steve’s shoulders. He let out a long, painful, yawn and smiled apologetically. “Sorry,” he said. “I think I’m too wiped to keep my eyes open.”

“Same here,” Steve murmured. He tucked himself under Tony’s shoulder for a moment, seeming to need the contact and then marched over to their luggage. “Let’s head out before we all fall asleep standing up.”

“Hey,” Tony said. “Let me carry the heavy one this time, eh?”

Steve chuckled. “Fine – if it makes you feel better,” he said.

Tony scooped up the heaviest of the bags before Steve could change his mind.

 

 

The beach was empty; it was night already, and they had to make their way to the Beach Houses with the starlight lighting their way. They could see porch lights as they got closer, likely left on by Mrs. Jia at some point in the evening. The silver Subaru Tony had bought had been delivered as promised and was sitting in his Beach House’s driveway, waiting to be used; Tony was glad to see it. He had called ahead while on the Quinjet to have it delivered from the dealership five hours away, and he hadn’t expected to see it so soon – he had expected it the next day at the earliest. Someone was definitely going to get a bonus.

“I think we can make it from here on our own,” Pepper said, flashing Tony a tired smile. She was carrying her briefcase suit in one hand and a flowery suitcase in the other.

“Sure,” Tony said, trying not to yawn into his hand. “Nighty night, Pep. You too, Hap.”

“Same to you, boss,” Happy said. He hoisted the suitcases he had been carrying a little higher under his arms and started up the sand with Pepper trailing after him. “See you guys later – and it better later, and not tomorrow morning.”

Tony snorted. “Same to you, pal. I don’t want to see your ugly mug for at least a few days.” He heaved their bags up the steps of his Beach House and nearly went ass over teakettle when Mabel slipped through an open window and came tearing down the stairs to greet them.

“Hello, cat,” Tony grumbled, stepping around Mabel so he could put their bags down without crushing her.

Mabel let out a loud, piercing meow and promptly sat down on Tony’s foot.

Tony sighed. “This _again_?”

Steve took the steps two at a time. He set the last bag and their briefcase suits down on the steps beside Mabel’s furry tail with a satisfied groan. He wiggled his fingers as he slipped them into Tony’s jacket pocket and pulled out the keys before bending down and giving Mabel a soft pat on the head.

“I think she was waiting for us,” Steve mused.

“Probably,” Tony grumbled. “Who knows? Maybe her ass just got cold and she missed my foot.”

Steve snorted and stood up, letting cat fur fall from his fingers. “That could very well be,” he said. He unlocked the door and let it swing open, dusting his hands off. The large square lamp was on in the corner of the living room, but aside from that everything was dark. He stood in the doorway, cautiously peering inside, his fingers clenching tightly around the key ring.

“It’s clear,” Tony said, keeping his voice calm. He knew how Steve felt. The last thing he wanted was to get comfortable and find some Hydra creep in their bedroom.

Steve didn’t immediately relax, but he did take a step into the hallway. Typical Steve, Tony thought with a smile. Always clearing the room first to make sure there was no danger.

“Hey,” Tony said, wiggling his feet out from under Mabel’s furry behind. “Mabel’s got a point. It’s freezing out here. Let’s get inside and warm up.”

Steve yawned; his shoulder drooped. “Alright,” he said. He shuffled back to the doorway and stepped out onto the porch, looking sheepish. “I’m sorry. I guess I kind of panicked there.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Tony said. He wrapped his arms around Steve’s middle, reeling him in and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I know how you feel. I want this place safe too.”

Steve’s arms wrapped tightly around Tony’s waist. “It’s safe,” he murmured. “And if it’s not, we’ll make it safe.”

“Yeah,” Tony said, softly. “We will.”

Mabel let out a loud meow. She pounced on Steve’s shoes and began gnawing on his shoelace.

“I think that’s our cue to go inside,” Tony chuckled.

“I guess so,” Steve said. He pulled away from Tony, gingerly slipping out of his shoes so Mabel could go about her business without his interference and picked up their briefcase suits. “Where do you want me to put these?”

“In the bedroom,” Tony drawled. “Everything we brought with us goes there – you too,” he said, giving Steve a sultry wink.

Steve’s eyes went dark. “Oh really?” he purred. “ _Everything_?”

Tony’s mouth went dry. “Yep,” he croaked. He cleared his throat and scooped up the rest of their luggage, nearly crushing his fingers against the door jamb in his haste to get it all through the front door. “Everything.”

Steve shut the front door behind them and locked it.

Tony practically sprinted for their bedroom. Steve was right behind him the entire time, his fingers tangled in the back of Tony’s shirt.

The suitcases were flung aside; the briefcase armor was gently set down.

Steve tackled Tony.

Tony hoisted Steve up into the air and kissed him soundly. Steve’s moan was the filthiest sound Tony had heard in _years_.

Tony took a step backwards, intending to fling Steve onto the bed so he could have his way with him.

Mabel let out an angry hiss as Tony stepped on her tail.

Tony went flying forwards, catching himself with the heels of his hands and his knees; Steve bounced off the bed with a squawk.

Steve let out a shrill laugh.

Tony swore and stood up slowly, rubbing his bruised knees. “ _Goddamn_ it, cat!” he growled.

Mabel sneezed in Tony’s direction. She licked at her tail, her eyes narrowed in irritation as she tried to get her fur settled back the way she wanted it and sneezed again as her fur went up her nose.

“I swear to god, she’s trying to kill me,” Tony muttered, standing up. He seized the zipper on his pants and yanked it down, popping the button on his pants open before shucking them and hurling them across the room. He grinned at Steve, waggling his eyebrows. “So,” he said. “Where were we?”

“I believe you were about to come over here,” Steve said, smirking at Tony. He pulled his pants off and heaved them off the side of the bed, nearly hitting Mabel with them. She glared up at him and went back to grooming her fur.

“You know,” Tony said, frowning down at Mabel. “I think I’d rather if _you_ weren’t in her watching us get it on.” He scooped her up, wishing he had had the sense to keep his pants on while tackling the squirming cat and carried her out to the living room. He set her down on the couch and sprinted for the bedroom, closing the door just in time to hear her darting after him. She hit the door with a muffled thud and let out a sad meow. Her paw appeared under the door as she tried to break into the room.

“ _Nope_ ,” Tony said, turning away from the door. “This is a kitty-free zone tonight,” he said. He leered at Steve, knowing that there was nothing standing between them. “Now, how about we finish what we started this morning?”

Steve shimmied out of his underwear and curled his finger at Tony as he flung his briefs away. “Come here,” he growled.

Tony yanked his shirt off and pulled his underwear down so fast, he nearly gave himself friction burns on his thighs. He tossed his briefs across the room and pounced on Steve, desperate for contact. Steve’s skin was warm and soft, his body far plumper than it had been when the serum had been pulled from him. Tony ran his hands over every inch of skin he could reach, savoring the way Steve shivered under his ministrations.

“You like that?” Tony purred as he dragged his rough palms over Steve’s hips.

“You know I do,” Steve said, his voice cracking. He pulled Tony on top of him, clamped a hand onto the back of Tony’s neck, and kissed him.

Tony groaned as their cocks brushed against each other and tried to push himself down, nestling himself between Steve’s legs. He wanted this to last – he wanted this to be good for Steve. This wasn’t just about getting off – this was about showing Steve just how much he loved him.

“Where’s the lube?” Steve asked, his fingers tangling in Tony’s hair.

“It should be in the top drawer of my dresser,” Tony said. He sucked on Steve’s lower lip.

“How about you grab it?” Steve murmured.

“Good idea,” Tony said. He shifted his weight, and rolled them towards the pillows. He grabbed for the dresser drawer, his eyes still locked on Steve’s, his mouth still pressed up against Steve’s and froze.

The dresser drawer was open.

He frowned.

When the hell had _that_ happened?

Tony reluctantly pulled away from Steve and sat up so he could look into the open drawer.

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” he yowled. He pulled out the bottle of lube – the _empty_ bottle with teeth marks in it – let out a long, suffering, sigh. “I knew it! She got us again!”

Steve’s eyes widened. “How the hell did _that_ happen?”

“I’m thinking the cat is a lot smarter than we give her credit for,” Tony muttered.

The bedroom door swung open; Mabel hung off the door handle, holding on for dear life.

Steve and Tony turned to stare at her, startled by her sudden appearance.

Steve squinted at Mabel. “Are we sure she’s not an LMD being piloted by Hydra?”

Tony slumped forwards, tossing the empty lube container across the room; it landed with a sullen clunk. “I’m starting to think she might be,” he muttered.

Steve rubbed his hands up and down Tony’s back. “We don’t need lube to have a good time, you know,” he said, pressing a kiss to Tony’s jaw.

“I know,” Tony grumbled.

“I’m sure we can find some lotion or something,” Steve said.

“I’d rather not,” Tony said with a grimace. “No offence, but I don’t want either one of us ending up with our asses on fire from some horrible allergic reaction. With our luck, we’ll have to go to the hospital.”

Steve let out a choked snort.

Tony groaned and buried his face in Steve’s throat. “I killed the mood, didn’t I?”

“You killed the mood alright,” Steve said, patting Tony’s back.

Mabel flung herself up on top of the bed and stalked towards them.

“ _No_ ,” Tony wailed, waving a hand at her. “Leave us alone you _demon_!” He rolled them over until he could find a break in the blankets and wrapped them up, shielding them from Mabel’s claws. Steve looked up at him, his hair tousled and damp with sweat. He was beautiful, no matter what he thought. Tony kissed him, grateful that they could have this kind of time together. There wasn’t a rush, he reminded himself. Sex wasn’t everything, after all.

“We can wait. I’m sure the grocery store has lube,” Steve said. “I mean, I could always just blow you – but if you _want_ to wait, that’s fine.”

Tony opened his mouth to complain and instead let out a jaw cracking yawn.

“On second thought,” Steve chuckled. “Let’s just wait till tomorrow.”

Tony nodded sleepily. He curled around Steve, holding him close. There was time – there would be plenty of time work things out; sure, he was going to need to find a way to lock the cat out, but he could work with that – he was a genius, after all and Steve was a master tactician. They would figure something out together. He fell asleep to the rhythmic boom of Steve’s heartbeat.

 

 

Morning found Tony trapped under Steve and Mabel. He peered at the light steaming through the window and curtains and debated on whether or not he could get away with never getting up again. When Steve stirred, his hands trailing over Tony’s lower back and ass, he decided that there were better things to do with his day than sleep.

“Morning,” Steve said, his voice hoarse.

“Morning,” Tony agreed. “Hey, do you think we could get away with going into town for breakfast and lube?”

Steve’s fingers dug into Tony’s ass. “Yes,” he said.

“Oh _good_ ,” Tony moaned, nuzzling Steve’s throat. “I was worried there for a second.”

“Clothing now?” Steve asked.

“Probably. I doubt they’re going to want two naked men in town,” Tony said. “We’re supposed to be keeping low profile after all.”

“True,” Steve murmured. “But that means letting go of your ass, and I’m not sure I want to do that yet.”

“That’s a tough decision,” Tony agreed. “I like your hands where they are too.”

Mabel let out a huffed snort and turned around, putting her nose in Tony’s ear.

“You know,” Tony said with a grimace, “I think I can get up now.”

“Agreed,” Steve said. He sat up, stretching out, his slim body curling as he tried to get comfortable. He pressed a kiss to the tip of Tony’s nose and scooted the cat away before getting up. “I think we can get away without showering today,” he said.

“That’s a pity,” Tony said, pouting.

Steve rolled his eyes. “Come on. Up – let’s get going.”

“Yes, sir,” Tony said, sitting up.

 

They left Mabel curled up on a pillow in the living room and headed into town with Steve at the wheel of the silver Subaru and Tony riding shotgun. It wasn’t a long ride, by any means, but it was just long enough to make Tony wonder about what their cupboards looked like. Were they bare or full? It felt like it had been months since he had been here last, and while he knew that it hadn’t been that long, he felt itchy – like he needed to stock up on groceries. Although, he mused with a wicked smile, he didn’t plan on leaving their bed for at least a week – maybe they would _need_ to stock up on supplies.

Steve saw Tony smirking and chuckled. “What’s going through that brain of yours?”

“Oh, you know,” Tony drawled, leaning back in his seat, “making a list – what we need to survive for a week in bed. All that stuff.”

“A list of stuff we’ll need to survive for a week in bed?” Steve asked, his eyes twinkling. “You’re – _oh_.” He let out a low groan. “You really should talk like that while I’m driving.”

“What’s _wrong_?” Tony asked, batting his eyelashes. He leaned closer, hearing the seatbelt zip and flex as he moved, and whispered in Steve’s ear, his lips ghosting over Steve’s earlobe. “Did I get you all hot and bothered, honeybuns?”

Steve’s face went bright red; his eyes went dark, his pupils blown in a way that made it seem like Tony had done a hell of a lot more than just whisper in his ear. “You bet your sweet ass you did,” Steve muttered, his eyes still glued to the road. “When we get home, you’re going to get it for that.”

“Oh I _hope_ so,” Tony said, waggling his eyebrows. He leaned back, pleased with himself and found that his seatbelt had safety locked him in.

Steve let out a laugh and flicked Tony in the shoulder. “Idiot.”

“The joke’s on you, pal. I’m _your_ idiot,” Tony muttered, glaring sullenly down at the seatbelt. When he moved to fix the problem, Steve flicked him again and shook his head.

“Leave it. We’re almost at the store,” Steve said. He pulled into a parking space, one of the many available that morning. Aside from one other car that had managed to get the best parking spot in front of the grocery store, the streets were practically devoid of life. Tumbleweeds could have gone rolling down the street.

Steve stepped out of the car and closed the door with a bump of his hip. He came around the side of the car as Tony got out and hesitated, stopping in front of the only other car on the street. His hands found their way to his hips; he frowned down at the car as he locked their car with the remote dangling from his keys. “That looks _oddly_ familiar,” he said.

Tony shrugged, not giving the car too close of a look. He didn’t particularly care whose car it was, so long as they could walk past it and get into the store. “Let’s get our groceries and get the hell out of here,” he said. “Hey, do you want pancakes when we get back? Or should we just buy some now and eat here?”

“I don’t know,” Steve said, linking his arm through Tony’s. He smiled fondly up at Tony. “We should get some fresh fruit at the very least. I’m pretty sure we’re out.”

“Oh, I see I wasn’t the only one making a list this morning,” Tony chortled. He stepped on the mat in front of the store, letting the automatic doors open, and tugged Steve towards a pile of green plastic shopping baskets. “Do you think we’ll need two baskets, or one?”

“I’m thinking we’ll need four, actually,” Steve said.

Tony cocked an eyebrow. “What the hell are you considering buying?”

“Everything we’ll need for a week of not getting out of bed,” Steve said, picking up two baskets.

“I like how we’re agreeing on this,” Tony said, grabbing two baskets. He followed after Steve, amused by the way Steve had headed straight for the pharmacy, where he hoped to god lube would be waiting for them. This wasn’t the biggest town in the world, but even it should have some lube – he hoped.

Steve picked up a bottle of lube and put it in the basket with a flourish. “I’d say we’re done shopping, but I think we kind of need to actually buy some food so it doesn’t look so damn obvious what we’re buying.”

“Normally I’d disagree and say to hell with everyone who judges us, but you know what?” Tony picked up two more bottles of lube and dumped them into his basket. He threw in two boxes of condoms for good measure. “I’m ok with hiding all of this under massive quantities of food.”

“You think we’re going to need that much?” Steve asked, grinning up at Tony.

“I’m _hoping_ we’ll need that much, but don’t worry – I’ve taken friction burns into account, so it’s not actually all that likely. This is more precautionary. You know,” Tony said. “Just in case the cat decides she wants to do any more damage.”

“Good point,” Steve grumbled. He picked up another bottle of lube and put it into his basket. Together, they had practically cleaned the place out.

“So,” Tony said, turning his back to the shelves. “What do you want to pick up first? Dry goods? Fruit? Toilet paper? Any preferences?”

“Well, if we’re having breakfast here, I guess we should probably leave the frozen stuff until later,” Steve mused. “I didn’t bring one of those insulated bags you bought last time.”

“Aww, crap,” Tony said, slumping forwards. “I knew there was something I was forgetting.”

“Hey,” someone said from behind them.

Tony turned sluggishly; his feels like they were glued to the floor. That voice was _awfully_ familiar – oh dear god, no! Not _now_!

There, standing behind them, holding a huge basket crammed with food, was Bucky. At first, Tony was furious; he wanted to grab Bucky by the shoulders and shake him until the bastard understood the words _private vacation_. But then he got a good look at the guy, and the anger vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared. Bucky looked like _shit_ – there was no way to sugar coat it, and he was an expert on sugar coating things most days. Bucky had a baseball cap pulled down low on his head, and his eyes had heavy, black bags under them; for once it wasn’t greasepaint – this was good, old-fashioned, exhaustion. Bucky looked like he hadn’t slept in _weeks_. His clothing was clean, but rumpled, and there was a fine sheen of sweat running down the side of his face, despite the relatively mild temperature.

“I need my keys,” Bucky said with a grimace.

Steve’s eyes widened. “Bucky? What are you doing here?”

“I need my keys,” Bucky repeated. “I can’t get into my place without them. You never handed them over and Jarvis doesn’t know where they are.”

Tony glanced down at Bucky’s basket, trying not to look too obvious about it. There was enough food there for a good week or more, and most of it was the ready-made kind of crap, stuff that could be easily thrown into a toaster oven or microwave. Something was definitely off about that – Tony knew Bucky could cook, and that the guy enjoyed the sometimes menial task. He had eaten Bucky’s cookies, after all – the man was practically a prodigy when it came to baking – and there wasn’t a single bag of flour or stick of butter in the basket Bucky was holding. That sent red flags all on its own.

“I don’t have your keys on me,” Tony said, quickly. He knew where they were of course – they were sitting on the counter in his Beach House beside his coffee pot – but he didn’t want Bucky to find them so easily. He couldn’t explain why he felt the need to lie, but once the words were out of his mouth, he felt better about it.

Bucky leaned forwards, his shoulders hunched. “Oh,” he mumbled.

“It’s fine,” Steve said, his voice soft and soothing. “We’ll figure it out when we get back to our place. I’m sure we’ll find them, right, Tony?” He turned to look at Tony, his smile warm yet firm.

“Oh sure,” Tony said, nodding along. “I’m sure we’ll find them.”

“Alright,” Bucky said, shifting his shopping basket from hand to hand. “I’ll meet you back there I guess.”

“You can shop with us,” Tony said, nodding to Bucky’s basket. “We’re heading out for breakfast after. You like pancakes, right?”

Bucky shrugged. “They’re alright,” he mumbled.

Tony locked eyes with Steve, who looked just as startled by the response. Bucky? Not claiming pancakes were the food of the gods? Something was definitely wrong.

“We’ve got plenty of time,” Tony said. “We can make a day of it. Groceries, breakfast and then home again – it’ll be fun.”

Steve nodded. “I wouldn’t mind the company,” he added.

“Are you two sure?” Bucky asked. He frowned, as though having forgotten where he was for a moment; his expression went carefully blank. “If you’re sure, alright. I guess I could eat pancakes.”

“We’re sure,” Tony said. “If you want to grab some frozen stuff, we’ll have to come back afterwards to get it. If we’re getting pancakes, that is.”

“Oh,” Bucky said, staring blankly down at his basket. “I guess I should put this stuff back then.”

“Might as well,” Steve said. “I’ll go with you – Tony, can you go grab some Advil while I’m gone? I forgot to restock the cabinet last time. Can you ask Jarvis if we forgot anything else?”

“Right. I’ll ask him,” Tony said. “Anything else?”

“You can grab the toilet paper while you’re at it,” Steve called over his shoulder as he led Bucky towards the frozen foods aisle.

“Right,” Tony said, giving Steve a mock salute. “I’ll meet you in the vegetable aisle, ok?”

“Sure,” Steve said. “See you in a bit.”

As soon as Steve and Bucky were gone, Tony pulled his phone from his pocket and sauntered over to a display of Advil. “Jarvis?” he said, keeping his voice low on the off chance that Bucky was still close enough to hear him – they never had checked out if the guy had super human hearing yet. There were a lot of things they didn’t know about Bucky; they were going to have to deal with that sooner rather than later, it seemed.

“Yes, sir?” Jarvis said. “If this is about Mr. Barnes’ keys, I am sorry. I thought it best that you dealt with the matter yourself.”

“You couldn’t _call_ and give me a heads up first?” Tony grumbled, putting a box of Advil in his basket. He stalked over to the toiletries aisle and picked the most expensive toilet paper they had; it was one thing he did not skimp on, even if Steve did give him dirty looks because of it. He snagged a box of Kleenex for good measure and spun in a slow circle before locating the wet-wipes. Those he would need, even if Steve hadn’t mentioned them; he knew just how messy sex could get, after all and he had no intention of doing the laundry a thousand and one times that week.

“I did call, sir, but I’m afraid you slept through my alerts,” Jarvis said. He sounded annoyed. “After you didn’t answer the fifth time, I felt it was best to wait until you checked the phone of your own accord.”

Tony sighed. “Fine,” he said. “So why is he here? What happened?”

“Mr. Barnes has been acting erratically ever since he returned to the building after Mrs. Potts-Hogan’s wedding, sir,” Jarvis said. “He left almost an hour after you did, borrowing one of the vehicles you purchased for the Avengers private use.”

Shit, Tony thought, letting out a sharp breath. Steve had likely seen the damn car before after all.

“I believe he spent most of the night driving, sir,” Jarvis continued. “There are no credit card statements to indicate that he stopped to rest, and from the vehicle records, he did not stop the car at any point in time aside from getting more gas.”

“That’s not good,” Tony said. He shifted the phone between his shoulder and his ear, trying to find a way to make it easier to carry two baskets and the awkwardly shaped cube of toilet paper.

“I attempted to convince him to stop for the night on the grounds of Captain Roger’s disapproval, but he refused,” Jarvis said. “I believe he is planning to stay in his Beach House instead of yours, if his request for keys is genuine.”

“Yeah, I kind of picked up on that part,” Tony said. He stepped around a stack of soup cans and made his way towards a stand where fresh fruit was sitting, waiting to be snapped up. He set his baskets down and pretended to be interested in a watermelon. “What’s going on back home? I’m assuming the lawyers sent their letters off for those fucking pictures already, right?”

“Yes, sir. I have also purchased the picture of yourself and Captain Rogers kissing at the wedding,” Jarvis said. “Nothing else of note has happened, sir. Agent Romanoff, Coulson and Barton have been called into SHIELD HQ for a debriefing, and Doctor Banner has returned to his work in his lab without incident. Thor has also retired to his floor, and is currently sleeping.”

“What about Rhodey? Did he and his mom make it back alright?” Tony asked. He was beginning to wonder how he had managed to sleep so well the night before with so many unanswered questions floating about.

“Mr. Rhodes and his mother have checked in already and insist that they are fine,” Jarvis said.

“So it’s just Bucky having trouble after what happened?” Tony asked, checking over his shoulder for eavesdroppers. He caught sight of Steve and Bucky six rows away. Shit – he was going to have to hurry it up.

“That is correct, sir,” Jarvis said. “If anything changes, I will alert you.”

“Good,” Tony said. “Thanks, Jarvis.” He hung up the phone and stuffed it into his pocket, flashing Bucky and Steve a lazy smile.

“Who was that?” Bucky asked, his brow furrowed.

“I called Jarvis to see if he sicced my lawyers on the paparazzi,” Tony said.

Bucky flinched. “You saw that already?”

“It was kind of hard to _miss_ ,” Tony said, dryly. “Pepper showed me on the way here. She wasn’t all that impressed with it.”

“They shouldn’t have said that crap about you,” Bucky muttered. He turned and glared at a stack of grapefruits. “I don’t get why people talk about stuff like that – it’s none of their goddamned business. You were doing a pal a favor – there’s nothing fishy about that.”

“I think the problem is that he was helping a _lady_ ,” Steve said.

“Well they still shouldn’t have said anything,” Bucky said.

“Don’t worry,” Tony said, putting a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. He jumped back when Bucky flinched away, and narrowly avoided being brained by Bucky’s jam-packed shopping basket. “Whoa! Easy there,” he said, holding his hands up.

Bucky looked horrified. “Shit,” he hissed, stepping back from Tony. He bumped into a stack of apples and sent them tumbling onto the floor. His fingers clenched around the basket’s handle; he turned as if to flee and stopped only when Steve grabbed him by the elbow.

“Its fine, Buck,” Steve said, his voice soft and soothing again. He seemed to have had a lot of practice with that voice; Tony wondered if it was a voice Steve had created solely for Bucky, or if it was for anyone who was having a hard time.

Steve rubbed a gentle hand on Bucky’s back and put himself in between Bucky and the apples. “You ok?”

“I’m sorry,” Bucky mumbled. “I didn’t get much sleep.”

“That’s alright,” Steve said, rubbing Bucky’s back again. “We all have those kinds of nights. Let’s just clean this up, alright?”

“Alright,” Bucky said, his voice soft as a whisper. He put his basket down and began rounding up stray apples with Steve by his side, his head ducked low, his eyes locked on the floor.

Tony wasn’t sure what to do, so he decided to help clean up. He bent down to snatch up a stray Gala, his fingers brushing Bucky’s when they grabbed for the same apple.

Bucky’s expression flickered between terror and irritation for a moment before falling carefully blank again.

“Sorry,” Tony said, letting the apple go. For a second there, he could have sworn he had seen a glimpse of the Winter Soldier lurking in Bucky’s eyes. He hoped he had imagined it.

“It’s fine,” Bucky grunted. “I’m the one that almost clocked you. I should be the one apologizing.”

Tony stacked the apples he had collected, making sure they wouldn’t topple again. He watched as Bucky and Steve did the same, his eyes trained on Bucky’s hands. He could tell that Bucky was shaking; it wasn’t that hard to see the ex-assassin was having trouble controlling his movements. He wondered how the hell Bucky had managed to get this far – how he had survived the drive over. He played back Pepper’s wedding in his mind, remembering the way Rumlow had thrown words around, the way he hadn’t called Bucky by his name – how Rumlow had called Bucky the Asset. Had something happened there in the dark, dank recesses of Hydra’s hidden bases? Had they done something to Bucky – something more than just wiping his mind? That in of itself was horrible, but there were far worse things they could have done. Torture, the plain old brutality-based kind was something Tony was familiar with, but there were plenty of other things that could make someone this jumpy and if Rumlow’s taunts had actually meant something real, things might have been a lot worse than any of them realized.

“I think we can grab the rest of our groceries when we’re done getting pancakes,” Steve said, setting an apple down on the stack. “Let’s just buy what we have and we can come back later.”

Bucky nodded stiffly. He glanced down into Steve’s basket and let out a loud snort, the colour returning to his pale face as his cheeks went red. “ _Shit_ , Rogers. You think you’ve got enough lube in there? What are you planning to _do_?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Blame the cat,” he grumbled, lifting his basket up.

Bucky cocked an eyebrow. “The _cat_? What the hell does the cat have to do with lube?”

“You’ll find out after pancakes,” Steve said, heading for the till. “Come on,” he called over his shoulder, “I want to get something to eat.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony knew playing keep-away with Bucky's keys wasn't the best plan, but they couldn't let him go home alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for Sexytime content. Warnings for discussions of torture/assault. Warnings for angst and trauma/blood.

With the first half of their groceries safely tucked away in the trunks of their cars, they made their way to the biggest restaurant in town, one Tony and Steve had visited regularly while on their previous, _unproductive_ , vacation. _Madeline’s_ had been diligently updated over the years, but it still had a lovely old-timey feel to it – it was nostalgic, but nothing looked like it was about to disintegrate into a pile of dust the moment the door was pulled open. The owner, a crabby-looking old man with beady eyes and a surly sneer was one of the nicest people they had met in a long time; he was more than enough to scare away the riff-raff, or so he boasted, and those who knew him knew that he was all bark and no bite. Today, the owner was nowhere to be seen, and Tony felt guilty for being glad for that – Bucky didn’t look like a respectable customer at the moment, after all, and the less attention drawn to him until he had taken a few showers, the better. Tony led the way, getting them the biggest booth without any trouble; most of the restaurant’s patrons were elderly, and had very specific seats they kept to. The booths were almost always free, likely because they were soft and squishy. Elderly hips didn’t appreciate that kind of thing – it made getting up more work than it was worth.

“Good morning,” Miranda, their usual waitress, said. She cocked a hip and stood beside their puffy black booth with a pitcher of water and a jug of coffee, her apron neatly tied over a pair of loose fitting slacks and a t-shirt. “Would you gentlemen like to look at a menu, or would you like to order right now?”

Bucky hunched in on himself. He pressed his body tight against the booth’s padded wall when Miranda glance curiously at him, neatly hiding himself behind Steve. From there, he could see every entrance and exit to the restaurant. His eyes darted around the room, watching _everything_.

“Is your pal alright?” Miranda asked.

“He had a long trip in,” Steve said, smiling brightly. “He’s trying not to fall asleep.”

“Ah,” Miranda said, nodding knowingly. “I’ll give you guys some extra coffee then.”

“Excellent idea,” Tony said. He glanced over at Steve and smiled when Steve gave him a stern nod. “I think we’ll have three of the pancake platters,” he said. The pancake platters at _Madeline’s_ were some of the biggest and best Tony had had since he had been child; he and Steve generally ended up taking half of what they ordered back home with them, and today he had a feeling that they would want to have some leftovers on hand. Bucky could eat almost as much as Steve did, back when he had been a super soldier, and there was no way he was going to let the guy wait for seconds – not with that pinched look on Bucky’s face. Bucky needed food and now.

The waitress put the jug of coffee down and flipped their coffee cups right-side-up, filling them to the brim with hot black coffee. “I’ll bring the cream over in a sec,” she said, setting the last cup in front of Steve. “Did you want a heart-healthy fruit platter too?”

Steve grinned. “You know us too well,” he chuckled.

Miranda winked. “I’m guessing you want extra blueberries, right?” she said, looking directly at Tony.

“She knows us _way_ too well,” Tony mock grumbled.

Miranda let out a breezy laugh and rolled her eyes. “You two are _adorable_.” She headed off to the kitchen.

Bucky let out a hissed breath through his teeth.

“Something wrong?” Steve asked, leaning against the table on his elbows.

“It’s nothing,” Bucky said. He grimaced as he glanced around the room again and then settled against the booth with a weary sigh. “I’m just tired – that’s all.”

“ _Right_ ,” Tony said, pulling the glass sugar shaker closer. He didn’t believe _that_ for a second. He shook sugar into his coffee, waiting patiently for the cream to appear. He side-eyed Bucky over the top of his mug, unsure of what to say or do next. Sarcasm was his friend, but it wouldn’t be helpful here – at least not now, at any rate. Clearly, Bucky wasn’t going to outright tell them what was wrong. They could work with that, of course – Steve was good at getting people to talk with little to no arm twisting even, but it would have been nice to know what to expect.

Miranda set a bowl of creamers down in front of Tony with a smile. “Your fruit platter will be right up,” she said. She looked ready to pinch Tony’s cheeks.

Tony grinned and batted his eyelashes at her, preening under the attention. She was the kind of person he would have wanted as an older sister. She always brought extra food, and never gave them shit about taking things home.

“Thanks,” Steve said, stealing the sugar away from Tony before he could put in more.

“You’re _very_ welcome,” Miranda said. She winked at Steve, and headed back to the kitchen, whistling as she went.

“So,” Tony said, peeling the lids off of a tiny plastic creamer container. He usually used five to get his coffee the way he wanted it, but today felt like a six day – or maybe a seven. The coffee seemed a hell-of-a-lot more _bitter_ than usual. “I take it things are chaotic at the tower?” he drawled.

Bucky snorted. “ _That’s_ an understatement,” he muttered.

“You just came for some peace and quiet, huh?” Steve asked, plucking one of Tony’s opened creamer containers from his hand.

Tony scowled and grabbed a replacement. “ _Thief_ ,” he groused.

“Creamer hog,” Steve said with a sweet smile. He pushed the sugar towards Bucky, moving the shaker slowly so it wouldn’t tip over. “Go ahead – it’s all yours.”

Bucky eyed the sugar but didn’t pick it up.

“You don’t need to talk about it here,” Tony said, noting Bucky’s unease. He sipped his coffee slowly, savoring the taste. It wasn’t the best brew, but it was comfortingly sweet. “We can talk about it back at the beach house if you want.”

Bucky sighed. He picked up the sugar shaker and shook it over his cup of coffee, using far more than Tony and Steve combined. He picked at the tiny creamers Steve pushed towards him and sighed, dumping only the one into his cup. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he muttered, giving his coffee a swirl.

“Well, when you’re ready, we’re here to listen,” Steve said.

“Sure. Don’t wait up,” Bucky grunted.

 

 

Bucky fell asleep at the table after only a sip of coffee. The pancakes arrived shortly after he nodded off, steaming and delicious as always; the fruit platter looked fantastic, like a rainbow in a bowl, and while Tony hadn’t been all that excited about breakfast before now, his stomach was ready to enjoy everything. He picked at the melon balls and blueberries on the platter, nibbling as he watched Steve tried to _gently_ ease Bucky awake.

It didn’t work – in fact, it backfired _spectacularly_.

Bucky jerked awake and jumped up so fast, he looked like he was trying to rocket clean out of his seat. He went stiff as a board and grabbed for his fork, his eyes wide and wild; he looked ready to stab anyone who got close to him, and he wasn’t likely to be _gentle_ about it. He let out a long, slow, breath when his eyes found Steve and Tony, his chest heaving, and sat down only after letting the fork drop from his shaking hand.

“Bucky?” Steve said, softly. “It’s ok. It’s just us. You’re safe here – I promise.”

Tony set his coffee down. He glanced over his shoulder surreptitiously, trying to see if anyone had noticed what had happened, and was pleased to see that no one – not even Miranda or the cook – had noticed anything.

“I’m _fine_ ,” Bucky said through his teeth. He kept his eyes on his lap. “It’s fine. It was nothing.”

“ _Bucky_ ,” Steve murmured.

“ _What_?” Bucky snapped. He jerked away when he saw the look on Steve’s face and pushed his back against the padded booth; his face went so pale, it seemed like every last drop of blood had been drained from his body. “I’m sorry,” he blurted.

“It’s ok,” Steve said. “It’s ok – I’m the one who should apologize. I’m the one who woke you up, remember?”

Bucky crumpled, his face disappearing into his hands. His shoulders shook with silent sobs; each breath he took seemed deafening.

Tony picked up his fork and started into his pancakes. He knew it made him look callouses – cruel, even – but he had been in Bucky’s position too many times before after an anxiety attack, and he knew that it was better to not feel like everyone was staring at you. Sometimes it was nice to just cry in peace for a few minutes; he was fairly sure Bucky hadn’t been allowed to do that before. He lifted up a forkful of pancakes as Steve stared at him, both eyebrows raised, and began to eat.

“The pancakes are good today,” Tony said.

Steve glanced between Bucky and Tony before picking up his own fork. His hand hovered over the pile of pancakes on his plate. “They uh… they sure do, Tony.”

Bucky took in a sharp breath.

“It’s ok, Bucky,” Tony said. “We all need to let it out sometimes. If you need to cry, cry. We’re not judging you. We’re just here eating pancakes, right Steve?”

“Exactly,” Steve said.

Bucky’s hands lowered slightly. He sniffled, peering at Tony as over his fingers. His eyes were red and puffy, his cheeks still pale; he wiped at his eyes and swallowed hard.

“When was the last time you had something to eat?” Tony asked, nudging Bucky’s plate closer to him.

Bucky swallowed hard again and looked down at the pancakes. “I don’t know,” he mumbled. “Last night maybe?”

“Eat,” Tony said. “They’re good. Trust me. You’ll feel better when you’ve got something in your stomach.”

Bucky stared down at his fork in despair. He curled the fingers of his metal hand, contemplating the fork’s position and the food as though he was being asked to stand in front of a firing squad. Slowly, his movements labored and shaky, he picked up the fork and cut into the first pancake. At first, he ate mechanically, taking every bite in and chewing it until he absolutely _had_ to swallow it down; after a few mouthfuls, though, his limbs loosened. He leaned against the table, his lips dusted with powdered sugar, and stabbed at a piece of strawberry on the fruit platter beside Steve. “These are good.”

Tony took a sip of his coffee, savoring the small victory.

“You’re right,” Bucky said, picking at the pieces of cantaloupe and honeydew. “I do feel better.”

Tony smiled. “That’s what I thought.”

“Did you guys ever – _you know_ ,” Bucky said, his voice low.

“I’ve had my share of crappy days, yeah,” Tony said. “Rhodey’s had to pick me up and dust me off a lot, but it got better as time went by.”

“Same here,” Steve said, wiping whipping cream off of his chin. “It happens. Nothing to be ashamed about.”

Bucky scrubbed his free hand over his face. “I feel like crap,” he admitted. “I hate feeling like this.” He stabbed another piece of fruit, eyeing Steve’s plate the entire time.

“Did you want some more?” Steve asked, turning his plate around.

Bucky shrugged. His plate was almost empty, although there were a few scraps of pancake left along the edges. “I’m not really hungry.”

Steve lifted up a pancake from his plate and put it on Bucky’s with a soft smile. “Eat up,” he said.

“But you’ve only got two left,” Bucky protested.

“I’ll steal one of Tony’s if I’m still hungry when I’m done with mine,” Steve said. “Go ahead.”

Bucky licked his lips and cut up the new pancake.

 

By the time the last of the pancakes was packed up, and the fruit sealed away in take-out containers, Bucky was nearly nodding off in his seat. The colour had come back to his face, although he still looked like he had spent a few hours out in the cold without a proper jacket. He was docile now, in a way that made Tony nervous. Neither he, nor Steve had seen Bucky act like this before. There was ‘being comfortable’, and then there was this. It didn’t seem like a good thing, even if it did mean Bucky got up and moved without protest.

Tony paid their bill in cash, making sure to leave Miranda a generous tip, and gathered the plastic bags holding their take-out. He held the door open for Steve and Bucky, walking at the rear while Steve walked at the front, leading the way. He didn’t want to say something in front of Bucky – not now, after what had happened in the restaurant – but he knew that both he and Steve were worried. By the time they reached their cars, Bucky was almost completely unresponsive. He walked, he moved where directed, but his eyes were glazed over and half closed. Tony hoped to god that it was just sleep rearing its ugly head, and not something worse.

“Alright, so we’ve still got all our frozen stuff to get from the store,” Steve said, his voice faux casual. He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and patted at his jacket. “Do you have a pen, Tony?”

Tony fished one out and handed it over. “You know I always keep one around for you, sweetheart.”

Steve smiled crookedly. He cleared his throat and wrestled the cap off of the pen. “From what I remember, you wanted a bunch of frozen pizzas, microwave dinners and frozen fruit. Am I right, Bucky?” Steve said. He frowned when Bucky didn’t even shrug and began scribbling out a list, the words surprisingly legible despite having been written on nothing flat. “I guess we’re coming up with this on our own,” he said.

“Did you want me to grab some frozen stuff too?” Tony asked. He knew Steve would appreciate a good tub or two of ice cream, and there was always frozen pie or cake to be had, even if it wasn’t as tasty as the fresh kind. The bakery would have to be a trip for another day, he mused.

“You can pick up some things, sure,” Steve said, handing Tony the list he had drawn up. He nodded to Bucky, who was standing beside him with a vacant, but relaxed, smile on his face. “I’ll grab Bucky’s stuff and you can grab ours. We’ll meet at the till when we’re done and figure everything out afterwards, alright?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Tony agreed. He glanced down at the paper and realized that the list wasn’t what he had thought it was – it was a note.

_He can’t drive like this_. _We’re going to need to find a way to get him home and check him over. I hope this isn’t something we can’t handle. If we need to, we’ll have to call someone in to talk to him. Any ideas who would be trustworthy?_

Tony nodded sharply to Steve as Steve stepped into the store ahead of him, with Bucky’s hand held tightly in his. Steve was right. There was no way in hell they were going to let Bucky drive a car. With the way he was acting, he might hit a tree or just plain sit in the parking lot for the rest of the day. Tony grimaced; the exuberance he had felt when he had woken up that morning was now completely drained away. This wasn’t good – They would need to call someone in to talk to Bucky if this was something bad. They could handle the little things, but neither he nor Steve were trained councillors or therapists.

Steve grabbed a basket and headed off into the store with Bucky trailing behind him.

Tony scooped up his own basket. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, juggling everything, and started walking as slowly as he could. “Jarvis? I need you to do me a massive favor,” he said.

“Yes, sir?” Jarvis said.

“Look up a list of therapists that specialize in PTSD and trauma,” he said. He wouldn’t force Bucky to see someone, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be ready if the time came. “Get someone with security clearance – someone who doesn’t blab to the press and all that. You know the drill.”

“I have compiled a list of several therapists, all of whom come highly recommended by both Agent Romanoff and Agent Coulson,” Jarvis said after a minute of silence. “I have emailed it to your phone, sir.”

Tony let out a soft laugh. “Why am I not surprised those two would have that kind of information lying around?”

“I believe they have used the resources themselves at one point or another,” Jarvis said. “Or at least, that is what Agent Romanoff has informed me.”

Tony nearly dropped his phone. _Natasha_ had willingly admitted to talking to someone? He hadn’t expected that of her; normally, she kept everything so hidden away, it was hard to tell what she was _thinking_ , let alone what she had been up to in a given year. He smiled and shook his head. If Natasha was willing to put that kind of trust in them, to admit seeing a therapist for Bucky’s sake, then things might just be alright after all.

“Do you require anything else, sir?” Jarvis asked.

“Speaking of Romanoff,” Tony said, heading towards the candy aisle, “How’s she doing? The wedding party turned out alright, didn’t it?”

Jarvis let out a soft hum. “I believe she felt the occasion was _adequately_ catered, sir,” the AI said. “She has informed me that she will be at SHIELD debriefings until the day is over, and that she will call you before she leaves New York.”

“She’s coming out here?” Tony asked, bewildered. He hadn’t thought that Natasha would be leaving the town quite so soon; she hadn’t mentioned it to him, and he had assumed that her duties – however limited they now were – with SHIELD would keep her busy for at _least_ another week. The wreckage from the church probably hadn’t been completely cleared up yet, and there was likely some Hydra goon blood SHIELD would need to scour from the earth. He wondered idly if it was her choice to head out to visit them, or if Fury had ordered her to go there on his behalf. He picked up a bag of scotch mints and dumped them into his basket. He had always found mints soothing when he was having trouble sleeping; if he was lucky, Bucky might feel the same way. Comfort was the name of the game today – they could all use some of it. He had the money to burn, and he planned on using it as much as possible – without giving away that he could afford to buy the entire town a few hundred times over or more – to make sure they had what they needed. He paused in front of a bag of soft caramels and tossed them into the basket before moving on to bags of beef jerky. Both Steve and Bucky had a bizarre love for jerky; they seemed to enjoy anything that had been dried out and over-salted. He hit up the bulk foods aisle and scooped a massive bag of salted peanuts, and then on a whim scooped out a bag of trail mix, filled with dates, mixed nuts, cranberries and cherries. That done, he headed out of the aisle and sauntered his way over to the frozen foods section, where he found Steve standing beside the upright freezers filled with frozen pizza. Bucky was standing at Steve’s side, his eyes open and glazed over.

Steve smiled brightly at Tony’s approach. “I see you had fun,” he chuckled. “Ooh – is that beef jerky?”

“Yep,” Tony said. “What’s going on with him?” He pointed at Bucky and nervously chewed on his lower lip.

“Bucky? Oh, he’s just sleepwalking,” Steve said, pulling open the freezer door. He pulled out a box of spinach and mushroom pizza and put it carefully in his basket.

“That’s _sleepwalking_?” Tony asked. He pulled a face and tried not to shrill laugh of relief. “I didn’t know people could do that.”

“I didn’t either,” Steve admitted. “He used to sleepwalk when we were kids, but he grew out of it – he never did anything like this back during the war. It’s a little _creepy_ , but I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”

“It’s not a _little_ creepy, Steve,” Tony snorted. “It’s a _lot_ creepy. Look at his eyes – _shit_. It looks like he’s staring right at me, but there’s no one home. He’s out like a light.”

“He’s definitely out,” Steve said, smiling softly. “I hit him with the freezer door by accident earlier and he didn’t even blink. He just kind of wobbled backwards and leaned up against the freezers beside him. It scared the hell out of me.”

“How did you figure it out?” Tony asked. He waved a hand in front of Bucky and got no response.

“Oh it was easy,” Steve laughed. “I was asking him all these questions and he just started _snoring_ , like I was the most boring person in the world. I’m not sure if I should be offended or really relieved.”

“I’d go with relieved, if I were you,” Tony said.

“That’s what I’m thinking,” Steve agreed. He picked up his grocery basket, rearranging the frozen food inside so it didn’t topple over the sides and end up on the floor. “At least he looks happy. I hope he’s dreaming about something nice.”

“Same here,” Tony said.

“We should probably ask Jarvis about it at some point,” Steve said, eyeing Bucky cautiously. “Just to be on the safe side, I mean.”

“Exactly. I’m thinking this means that the people who trained Bucky did a lot more than we know,” Tony sighed. He didn’t like it that Bucky was sleepwalking during the day like some kind of zombie, but it was could have been much, much worse. This way they didn’t have to worry – or at least, he hoped they didn’t.

“I’m sure there’s a lot stuff he doesn’t know about himself,” Steve said, his expression turning dark. He clenched his fists and let out an angry snort. “Those _bastards_ must have spent years messing around with his head. I feel so stupid for not thinking about it before now – I should have looked for him when he fell. I should have done something.”

Tony wrapped an arm around Steve’s shoulder and gave him one-armed hug. “What happened wasn’t your fault or his. You couldn’t have known – you thought he was dead.”

“This was Hydra’s work,” Steve said, bitterly. He pulled away, glaring down at the floor. “I should have known.”

“It’s more the Red Room’s work with a _hint_ of Hydra,” Tony said. “Bucky said he was hired by Hydra – not that he was with them the entire time he was the Winter Soldier. There was no way you could have known what they were up to there in Russia – the Red Room was even more secretive than Hydra. No one knew it even existed aside from a handful of SHIELD agents and Natasha.”

“Bucky told you he was hired by Hydra?” Steve asked, resting his basket against his hip. He looked startled.

Tony frowned. “Told? No – he didn’t really _say_ anything about it. Natasha said it – it was the rumor going around. She was pretty sure it was good intel, and Clint and Couslon agreed with her.” He looked over at Bucky, who was still standing beside the freezer looking completely out of it. “I wonder if any of its even true. I never did follow up on it. I mean, Natasha, Coulson and Clint interrogated Bucky back then, but I don’t know if that particular question actually came up in conversation – I wasn’t exactly having a good time back then.” He shuddered, remembering the beach, the water and the way the Winter Soldier had towered over him – the way the water had tasted in his mouth. He was still for so long, Steve tugged on his arm in concern.

“Tony?” Steve asked. “Are you ok? What’s wrong?”

“It’s fine – I’m fine. Just remembering things,” Tony muttered. He was getting better at pushing the thoughts of the beach and the water – of that night – away, but he knew it was only a matter of time before the nightmares surfaced again. He glanced over at Bucky, who now looked close to going face first into the freezer. “Hell, I don’t even know if _Bucky_ knew how he ended up with Hydra. He never talks about it, and I have this feeling like they didn’t ask if he wanted to have any part of their lovely organization.”

“They never did know how to ask politely,” Steve said, dryly. He grabbed Bucky’s arm and began tugging him towards Tony. “Come on, Buck,” he said. “Let’s get all this stuff to the till and head on home. You look like you could use a nice soft bed to fall into.”

Bucky didn’t say a word, but he followed along.

 

 

Tony and Steve hauled their grocery bags out to the street where their car and Bucky’s sat waiting. One look at Bucky made things perfectly clear; he wasn’t going to be driving _anywhere_ until he had gotten some sleep. Leaving him alone was out of the question.

“I’ll drive Bucky’s car back,” Tony decided, closing their trunk. “Where do you think he’s keeping his keys?” He didn’t want to have to go digging around in Bucky’s pockets like a creep; they were close, but they weren’t so close that it felt natural to be sticking his hands in the guy’s pockets without permission.

Steve had no such compunctions. He patted at Bucky’s coat, feeling along the pockets and then patted at Bucky’s jeans. He pulled the car keys free, smoothly putting the pocket’s liner back in place and handed the keys off to Tony. “Don’t worry,” Steve said when he caught sight of Tony’s bemused smile. “He used to do this with me all the time when we were younger. We have a long-running agreement that digging out keys out of pockets is fine by both of us if its absolutely necessary. I used to have to fish his keys out all the time when he got drunk.” He opened the passenger seat and led Bucky towards it, helping Bucky sit down. He buckled Bucky up and then closed the door. “A word to the wise– he’s extremely ticklish when he’s drunk, so don’t get anywhere near his armpits or elbows when you do it or you’ll get a fist to the face.”

“Good to know,” Tony laughed.

“So,” Steve said. He closed the passenger side door and stepped away from the car. He made sure his back was to the window and motioned for Tony to turn around as well. “Where are the keys to his place?” he asked. “I know you’re hiding them.”

“They’re at our Beach House,” Tony confessed, keeping his voice low.

“I don’t think we should let him go home alone tonight,” Steve murmured.

“Me neither,” Tony said.

“So what do we do?” Steve said.

“I say we be sneaky and somewhat _evil_ ,” Tony said.

“Oh?” Steve smirked. “What did you have in mind?”

“Drive him around in circles for a bit so I can hide his keys – he can’t go home alone if he can’t get through the front door,” Tony said.

“You think that’ll work?” Steve said, pursing his lips.

“He wouldn’t have come up to us to ask for the keys if he had been willing to break in all on his own,” Tony said.

“Good point,” Steve said.

“I’ll call you when can head home. I’d rather not risk him finding out that we’re pulling the wool over his eyes, even if he is sleepwalking. I like my spleen where it is,” Tony chuckled.

“Alright,” Steve sighed. He ran his slender fingers through his hair. “Jeeze,” he muttered. “When you told me we were getting a vacation, I didn’t think _this_ was on the itinerary.”

Tony snorted. “It wasn’t – I know for a fact I didn’t have the words ‘nursing our friend back to health’ on that list. The only thing I wanted was to get you into bed.”

Steve smiled. “We can still do that, you know.”

“I know,” Tony murmured. “We’ll just have to sneak around. It’ll be fun. And hey, if we’re lucky we’ll get some time together before the Avengers, aliens, Hydra or someone else decides to barge in and wreck everything.”

Steve went up on the tips of his toes and kissed Tony on the cheek. “Do me a favor,” he said. “Find some wood to knock on when you get home so you don’t curse us.”

“I have some wood in my pants you can knock on,” Tony said, grinning slyly. “I mean, if you want.”

Steve gave Tony another kiss and gently slid his hand down the front of Tony’s pants.

Tony let out a whimper.

“Don’t drive home _too_ fast,” Steve purred. He gave Tony’s cock a gentle squeeze and slid his hand free, returning to their car.

Tony shifted from foot to foot, hoping his erection wasn’t visible to damn near everyone in the surrounding area. His breath quickened as he lunged for Bucky’s car, the keys jangling in his hand.

 

Tony didn’t drive like a maniac back to the Beach House, but it as a damn close thing. He pulled into the parking spot, killed the engine and threw himself out the door, hastily locking the car behind him. He fumbled with his house keys, his fingers stiff from clenching the steering wheel so tightly. He wrestled the door open. His hands were sweaty; his pupils blown. Keys – he needed to find the keys and then maybe they’d find some way to have fun without someone walking in on them. And hell, if they had to fool around with Bucky in the same house, he could be quiet; he had had more than his fair share of good times in cloakrooms and closets during parties, after all. God he wanted Steve.

He found Bucky’s house keys on top of the microwave in a ceramic bowl shaped like a cat. Whistling to himself, pleased by his discovery, he stuffed them into his pocket and pulled his phone free. He dialed Steve’s number, petting Mabel’s furry head as she tried to climb his leg.

“You can head back,” Tony said, his voice raspy. He licked his lips and tried not to think about what might happen when Steve got home. There was no point in getting worked up now – not when Bucky was going to be possibly awake and in the house with them.

“Alright,” Steve said. He cleared his throat. “I hope you didn’t touch anything without me.”

Tony’s voice cracked. He let out a pained whimper. “No – no. I was good. I swear.”

“You’d better have been,” Steve warned. “I don’t want to get back there and find you in a puddle on the floor.”

Tony chuckled. “Believe me, I don’t want that either. How did things go for you two?”

“Bucky and I took a trip to the bakery,” Steve said. “We got those cookies you like so much. He fell asleep on the counter while I was paying and I had to pat his back until he woke up enough to get moving again.”

“That’s kind of adorable and yet mood killing,” Tony said.

“I know,” Steve sighed. “We’ll be home in a few minutes. Do me a favor – find the keys to my Beach House. Once we get him settled in our place, I want to head over there where we’ll have some privacy. Jarvis can babysit for a few hours – I’m sure he and Mabel will be more than enough to keep Bucky out of trouble.”

“I hope so,” Tony said. “See you when you get back.”

“Alright,” Steve said. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Tony said. He hung up and set his phone down on the counter with a happy sigh. He stared down into Mabel’s wide eyes, knowing that mischief was only moments away. “So,” he said. “You’re going to have to babysit. I can pay you in catnip if you want – I’ve got all the good shit in a can in the cupboard, but don’t tell Steve. He thinks I’m spoiling you.”

Mabel let out a half-purr-half-meow and wound herself around Tony’s legs in a figure eight.

“Alright,” Tony said, stepping carefully around the cat. “So – Jarvis – you’re up for babysitting too, right? Because despite what Mabel thinks, she’s not going to be able to do this alone.”

“Duly noted, sir,” Jarvis said, his voice gliding smoothly from the house’s hidden speakers. “The guest room is stocked with blankets and linens, but there are still a few blankets remaining in the closet. I believe Mr. Barnes would benefit from having something soft and plush around – as would the cat.”

“That’s a good idea,” Tony said. He stroked a line down Mabel’s back, and gave her tail a gentle tug. “You’re going to be a good girl, right? No sleeping on his face, or biting him in his sleep, right?”

Mabel gave sneezed at him.

“Is that a yes or a no?” Tony asked.

Mabel meowed and sat down beside Tony’s foot. She sank her teeth into his shoe and held on for dear life. Sighing, Tony slowly made his way to the closet. He had blankets to collect, with or without promises of good behavior from the hairy demon attached to his shoe.

 

 

Tony waited for Steve on the porch with Mabel perched on his knees. He got up only after Steve parked the car, keeping his fingers in Mabel’s fur for fear that she might try and dive under the moving vehicle; some days she seemed crazy enough to want to do something like that. He wondered vaguely if cats were capable of thinking long term, or if they simply went about life taking things minute by minute.

Steve got out of the car as Mabel bounded down the stairs to greet him. He bent down and scooped her up, hugging her tight until she wiggled in his arms and tried to get free.

“You’re so cruel,” Tony chuckled. Mabel looked surly as hell now, although she wasn’t actually trying to jump down from Steve’s arms. She made herself comfortable, resting her chin on Steve’s shoulder and let out a loud, irritated sigh. Steve set her down.

“There,” Steve said, patting Mabel’s back. “Was that a good hello?”

Mabel snorted and turned her back on Steve. She padded her way up the stairs and disappeared inside with her tail held high.

“Either she’s supremely disappointed, or that was what she was looking for,” Tony said. He joined Steve at the trunk and began hauling out bags, looping the handles around his arms so he could carry more than one bag on each arm. He glanced at the car and saw that Bucky’s face was pressed up against the passenger’s side window; Bucky was out like a light, clearly snoring and there was drool and fog on the window.

“Don’t worry,” Steve grunted, hoisting up a bag of frozen goods. “I took pictures. You can stare at him later. Let’s get this stuff in the freezer before it melts.”

They moved quickly, slipping inside to dump the grocery bags on the floor. Tony brought in their leftovers from the restaurant and stuffed them unceremoniously into the fridge. He tapped his fingers impatiently on the table, standing beside it with his gaze locked on Steve as Steve went through the grocery bags to find all of their frozen goodies. He smirked to himself and wiggled his fingers. Steve’s ass looked mighty fine, and he couldn’t wait to get him naked.

“Don’t even think about it,” Steve grumbled.

Tony scowled and slumped against the table.

“Do me a favor – go bring Bucky in. We need to get him tucked in before we head out,” Steve said. He cocked his head and peered at Tony, licking his plump pink lips. “Think you can handle that?”

Tony practically ran for the front door. He jumped down the steps, his eyes glued to the car, and dove for the passenger’s side door, swearing up a storm at the way his pants were chafing his cock. Bucky was still slumped against the door, still dozing peacefully, unaware that anything was happening. Tony eased the door open a crack with a grimace, and hoisted Bucky up, making sure he didn’t fall out when the door was completely open. He shifted his weight, letting Bucky lean his full weight against him.

Bucky’s eyelids fluttered. He groaned slightly and turned, pressing his face into Tony’s throat. He grumbled in his sleep when his cheek brushed against Tony’s beard and wrapped his arms around Tony’s shoulder, his grip surprisingly tight.

Tony adjusted his stance and managed to get Bucky on his feet. It took a lot longer to get him up the stairs than expected, and by the time he got Bucky to the guest bedroom, Steve had vanished into the bathroom.

Tony pulled Bucky’s shoes and socks off, setting everything in a pile beside the wall. He hesitated before turning his attention to Bucky’s clothes. He knew just how uncomfortable it was to sleep dressed in dirty clothing, but how far did he need to strip Bucky down? He set Bucky’s hat down on the dresser beside the bed and unzipped Bucky’s coat, rolling him onto his side so he could wrestle the filthy thing out from under him. He tossed the jacket onto the pile against the wall, making a mental note to do laundry as soon as possible. He looked Bucky over. No, it was no use. He couldn’t leave Bucky in his jeans or his t-shirt; both looked absolutely filthy. With a sigh, he tugged the button holding Bucky’s jeans closed and gently eased him out of them, wrinkling his nose at the smell of stale sweat and body odor. Clearly, Bucky hadn’t picked clean clothing when he had fled the tower – he had probably just picked up something he had found on the floor and pulled it on. Tony tossed the jeans away, purposely not looking at Bucky’s dark cotton briefs. Bucky’s legs were another matter entirely; they were pale and covered with old bruises. His hips were sharp, and there were the pale, scarred remains of scratches on them, likely done by something sharp. Tony wondered if Bucky had done that himself, or if someone had done it for him. He moved on, not wanting to invade Bucky’s privacy any more than he had to, and slowly stripped Bucky out of his sweaty shirt. There were more scars on Bucky’s chest. He hoped the marks were from past fights.

“Is he settling in alright?” Steve asked, hovering in the doorway.

“He seems to be,” Tony said, pulling the blankets up over Bucky’s body. He smoothed Bucky’s sweaty hair down, wishing he could brush it out so it wouldn’t be so tangled, and stepped back so Steve could get a look at his handiwork.

Steve’s smile was weary. “He looks like he’s been to hell and back,” he said.

“He probably has,” Tony said, shaking his head sadly. He pulled another blanket out from the pile he had left beside the bed and began layering the blankets around Bucky’s body, building him a nest. It would be better for the guy to wake up with something soft around him; Bucky was probably used to sharp, hard things, and this at least wouldn’t be so jarring to wake up in. When he was satisfied, he turned back to Steve and slipped quietly out of the room. Mabel darted between his legs and jumped up on Bucky’s bed, doing a slow circle beside Bucky’s head. She laid down and began licking her fur.

“Do you think it’s safe to leave her with him?” Tony asked, suddenly nervous. There was no telling what Bucky might do if he was startled. Breakfast had taught him that much.

“I don’t think he’ll lash out when he wakes up, if that’s what you’re asking,” Steve said. “Every time he had a sleepwalking bout when he was younger, he used to wake up cuddly and smiling. Hopefully, he’ll be like that this time too.”

“And if not, we’ve got Jarvis to talk him out of it,” Tony hummed softly.

“That’s very true,” Steve said. He turned the light off in Bucky’s room. “There. He’ll probably be out for a few hours at the very least. He sleeps like a rock.”

“I know,” Tony chuckled. “He’s been in our bed at least ten times by now.”

“So he has,” Steve said, reaching for Tony’s hand. He walked them to the front door and pulled out his keys. “Let’s get going.”

Tony grinned wolfishly. He gave Steve a tender kiss and pulled away, leaving Steve grumbling, but smiling.

 

They walked across the beach holding hands the entire way. Tony’s gaze was locked on Steve as they made their way across the sand; it was impossible to look away from him. Steve’s eyes were making him all kinds of hot and bothered, and the walk couldn’t go by fast enough. Tony opened the front door, the key turning like butter in the lock and let them into Steve’s Beach House.

Steve’s Beach House wasn’t luxurious, or modern like Tony’s; Steve had requested that as much of the original décor be retained, aside, of course, from the horrible wallpaper. Tony hadn’t been in here since he had done a last walkthrough after it had been completed. He let out a low whistle. The place wasn’t as spotless as he had imagined it would be. There was a blanket hanging off of a chair at the kitchen table and a pile of laundry left lying on the couch.

“I take it you did a little _decorating_ when you were here last,” Tony drawled.

“Not really,” Steve said. He kicked off his shoes and knelt down by Tony’s feet, his fingers making short work of the laces.

Tony grinned. “That _eager_ , are we?”

“You aren’t?” Steve asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Tony kicked his shoes clean across the room. “I never said that,” he said. He pulled at his shirt and pants, nearly tearing them off in his haste. His briefs were damp at the front; they felt like a prison, trapping his swollen cock. He yanked them down, balled them up and pitched them across the room, hitting the kitchen sink. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time – he wanted this to be good for Steve – he needed it to be. Steve deserved that.

Steve began shucking his clothing; he yanked the shirt up and over his head, and tried to get his pants open with his free hand at the same time. It was an impossible task. He let out a shrill laugh as Tony caught him, keeping him from knocking himself on his ass. “I guess I’m not as suave as I thought,” Steve said.

“You’re plenty suave,” Tony said, helping Steve pull his shirt off. He threw the shirt across the room to join his shoes and slid his hands down the sides of Steve’s pants, reveling in the way Steve’s skin felt against him. “You got me out of my clothes already. I’d say that’s pretty damn suave.”

Steve moaned as Tony squeezed his thighs. “Tony. Oh god – please.”

“Please _what, darling_?” Tony purred, slowly slipping Steve’s pants down an inch at a time. “Pretty please?”

“Please fuck me,” Steve growled. “I want you in me.”

Tony pulled Steve’s pants down in one clean move. He gave Steve’s underwear a soft caress, enjoying the feel of the fabric, before sliding his hands down inside them, cupping Steve’s cock and balls. “I think I can do that,” Tony mused.

“Really?” Steve said. “Where’s the lube?”

Tony froze. “Uh… I don’t actually… I didn’t bring any.”

Steve smirked. He kissed Tony, his mouth hot and sweet, before pulling away to grab his jacket. He pulled a bottle of lube out of his pocket and held it out, an offering. “I guess it’s a good thing I brought this then, huh?”

Tony grinned, all teeth. “You bet your sweet ass it is,” he said. He wrapped his arms around Steve’s middle and threw him over his shoulder. “Where do you want to do this?”

“Bed,” Steve said, giving Tony’s ass a slap. “Move it, Stark. We don’t have all day.”

“Roger that, Rogers,” Tony cackled. He paused only to throw open the door to Steve’s bedroom and turn on the light.

Steve’s bedroom was sparsely furnished, everything practical and clean. The duvet and comforters were folded neatly on the floor beside the bed, leaving only pillows and sheets. There was a box of condoms sitting on the dresser, and a box of wetwipes on the floor under the bed. Someone had been a busy little bee.

“I see you were planning ahead,” Tony said. He set Steve on the bed, crawling up after him and found himself flipped over. Steve straddled his hips. He didn’t mind all that much – in fact, it made things a whole lot easier to grab Steve’s ass.

Steve’s hair hung in feathery strands in front of his face. He kissed Tony, grinding himself down on Tony’s cock; he shifted his hips, letting their bodies rub together again, his eyes closing as Tony’s cock slid between his legs.

“Steve,” Tony murmured, threading his fingers through Steve’s hair. “You feel so good.”

Steve handed Tony the bottle of lube, his hands shaking, and sank his teeth into Tony’s shoulder. “It can get better.”

Tony groaned so loudly, he was fairly certain people had heard him all the way across the beach. He opened the lube, spilling it onto his fingers and scooted Steve forwards so he could get easier access to his ass. He kneaded Steve’s thighs for a moment, his body burning with need as Steve let out whimpered moan after whimpered moan at his touch.

“Tony,” Steve said, his ass in the air, his knees bracketing Tony’s hips. “Tony.”

“I’ve got you, honey,” Tony said. He moved slowly, drawing a line along Steve’s soft thighs with his thumb. He pushed a finger inside Steve, mindful of Steve’s every move, his every twitch, his every breath; he was surprised to find almost no resistance.

Steve sighed, pressing back against Tony’s finger. “Please,” he rasped. “Please. Please, you feel so good.”

“Were you _naughty_?” Tony asked, amused. “Did you play with yourself in the bathroom? I think you did.”

Steve pressed sloppy kisses to Tony’s shoulder, pushing back against Tony as Tony slid a second finger inside of him. “Maybe,” Steve grunted. “I wanted this to be good for you. I didn’t want to wait.”

Tony’s hand stilled. “Honey, it’ll be good no matter what,” he said, cupping Steve’s cheek with his free hand. “I’m with you. This is everything I could ever want.”

“Yeah?” Steve said, lifting his head. His eyes were wide, as though the words had startled him; maybe they had.

“I love you,” Tony said, twisting his fingers.

Steve’s back arched. He gasped and pushed back against Tony’s fingers.

“I love you so damn much,” Tony said, sliding his fingers out a little. He didn’t need any more lube, but the feeling of his fingers being in such warmth was making it hard to control himself.

“I love you too,” Steve said. “I’d love you more if you hurried up.”

“I can’t reach the condoms from here, sweetheart,” Tony said, fucking his fingers back into Steve’s ass. He added a third finger, watching Steve’s face for discomfort, pleased when he saw nothing but pleasure.

“We don’t need them,” Steve said, his eyes snapping open. The look of determination on his face was something Tony hadn’t ever associated with the bedroom before. He was going to have a very hard time taking that look seriously when they were in the field now.

“We’re both clean,” Steve said.

“You’re ok with this being messy?” Tony asked, giving Steve’s cock a playful tug.

Steve’s eyelids fluttered. He pushed back onto Tony’s fingers, forcing them deeper inside of him. “I’m _very_ ok with this being messy.”

“Alright then,” Tony said. He squirted more lube into his hand and slathered it over his cock, letting it drip all over to make sure he had every last inch covered and slick. He pulled his fingers out slowly and found his hands pushed away from his own cock.

“Can I?” Steve asked, his voice soft as a mouse.

“Sure,” Tony said. “Whatever you want.”

Steve lifted himself up, reaching around him to angle Tony’s cock just right so it would slip inside with ease. His eyelids fluttered as he was filled up; his fingers curled around Tony’s shoulders, his nails digging in ever-so-slightly to Tony’s skin.

“Is this good?” Tony wheezed, his voice almost stolen from him. The feeling of Steve all around him, the tightness and warmth, was almost overwhelming.

“It’s good,” Steve slurred. He pushed down on Tony’s cock again, driving it deeper inside him, until his ass was flush with Tony’s balls. “Oh god. Oh god this is so _good_.”

“Worth the wait?” Tony asked, pressing a kiss to the tip of Steve’s nose.

“ _So_ worth the wait,” Steve said. “I’d wait forever if it meant being here with you.” He shifted his weight, grinding down again and began to lift himself up.

“You’d wait forever?” Tony said, his voice strained.

Steve grinned down at Tony. “Sure,” he said. “You’re worth it.”

“That’s what I was going to say,” Tony said. “You’re so beautiful – you look so sweet. I love this – I love you.”

“Tell you what,” Steve said, clearing his throat. His eyes crossed; he let out a low whimper and clenched around Tony’s cock, making Tony shiver beneath him. “I’ll be nice. You can drive stick – I’ll handle the rest.”

“Whatever you want,” Tony said. He wrapped his slick fingers around Steve’s cock and began to pump slowly, feeling the way Steve’s cock twitched in his hand. He liked how hot Steve felt beneath him; he loved the way Steve’s eyes were closed, head thrown back as Steve moved up and down on his cock. He hadn’t watched someone he was having sex with like this before – not this closely – but it was hard to keep his eyes off of Steve. There was something so striking about him and the way the light hit his hair made him look like he was some kind of fallen angel. Steve might not be able to see how perfect he looked, but Tony damn well could. He memorized everything, savoring Steve’s every sound, his every expression.

It was over faster than Tony would have liked; he paid more attention to Steve’s orgasm than his own, his fingers gently rubbing against Steve’s cock until he was finally, blessedly spent. He grabbed for the wet wipes, cleaning them both up, and curled on his side with Steve cuddled against him, contented and relaxed. It felt right to have Steve snuggled against him; it felt right to be _here_ , wrapped in each other’s arms. He let out a yawn, and kissed Steve’s sweaty forehead.

Steve let out a mumbled word that sounded vaguely like Tony’s name and went back to dozing.

 

 

Tony woke to the creak of bedsprings. He rolled over, pawing lazily at the bed for Steve, but found him gone. He let out a low whine and curled up back under the blankets, leeching the remaining warmth.

Steve returned a few minutes later, still naked. “Are you coming?”

“Where?” Tony asked, suspicious.

“We should shower and get back,” Steve said. He leaned against the doorframe, the light behind him trickling in around his body, making him glow like he was painted with gold. “Jarvis says Bucky’s awake.”

Tony sighed and sat up, letting the blankets fall behind him. “Well, so much for our sexy naptime,” he grumbled, standing up.

Steve chuckled, cocking his hip. “I don’t know about that,” he said. “There’s still time for a shower if you get moving. That can be pretty sexy too.”

Tony waggled his eyebrows. “I like how you think, Rogers,” he said. He followed Steve into the bathroom and closed the door behind them.

 

The walk back across the beach was slow and leisurely; Tony kept his eyes on Steve’s, and their fingers entwined. They made their way up the front steps, grinning, and found the door unlocked. Steve opened the door, pulling Tony inside behind him.

Bucky was sitting at the kitchen table with Mabel squatting on his shoulder. There was a serving platter piled high with chunks of chicken, alfredo sauce and noodles on the table, and there were plates set out in front of all three seats. He looked far better than he had earlier on in the day, although the bags under his eyes were still clinging to life.

“I see you’re back,” Bucky said. He gave Mabel’s head a scratch and yawned into his arm.

“You made dinner?” Tony asked. He hadn’t realized that they had been gone for so long. He was surprised that Jarvis hadn’t woken them up earlier.

“I figured it was the least I could do, all things considered,” Bucky said with a shrug.

“We’re just glad we could all get some well-deserved rest,” Steve said, sitting down in the chair at Bucky’s left.

“ _Rest_?” Bucky snorted in amusement. “Yeah – sure. I bet your trip was _real_ restful.”

Steve smirked. “That’s all you need to know about it.”

“Right,” Bucky said. He pushed a pair of tongs towards Steve. “Dig in. It’s still hot.”

“So I see,” Tony said, sitting in the chair to Bucky’s right. Dinner smelled mighty good. He waited while Steve doled out the food, gladly accepting a full plate, and dug in. “This is pretty good. Did you make the sauce yourself?”

“Yeah,” Bucky said, nibbling at a forkful of noodles. “Your AI helped me find a recipe. It wasn’t all that hard.”

“I guess we know who’s cooking dinner every night, huh?” Tony said, flashing Bucky a cheeky grin.

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Yeah, like you want me around every night,” he grumbled, staring down into his plate. He prodded at a piece of chicken. “Did you find my keys at Steve’s place there by any chance?”

Tony shrugged. He licked alfredo sauce off of his thumb, trying not to look as if he was watching Steve for cues. “We looked,” he said after Steve nodded at him. “Couldn’t find them anywhere. I guess we’ll have to keep looking.”

Steve smiled softly. “We’ll probably find them eventually. They can’t be far.”

“You guys don’t have to lie, you know,” Bucky sighed. He set his fork down and pushed his food away. “Look – I get it. You’re trying to be _nice_ , but I don’t want to be the guy who gets between you two every damn time you try and get together.”

“Bucky,” Steve sighed, setting down his fork.

“No – don’t _Bucky_ me. I know what’s going on. I’m not fucking _blind_ , Steve – I can see you’re trying to be sweet about it and all,” Bucky grunted. “But I didn’t come to butt in and ruin your alone time. Give me my fucking keys and I’ll get out of your hair.”

“We’re not kicking you out,” Tony said. He speared a piece of chicken and took a bite. It really was too damned good for its own good. He could see himself eating the entire platter on his own. “Seriously. We don’t mind having you around.”

“Don’t _lie_ ,” Bucky growled, his eyes glinting.

“I’m not,” Tony said. He scowled at Bucky. “Yeah, you get under our feet sometimes, but that’s kind of bound to happen when there are two horny lovebirds around.” He winked at Steve, trying not to laugh when Steve put his face in his hands.

Bucky’s face flushed. “Oh for fuck’s sake,” he muttered.

“It’s fine, Bucky. We don’t mind you being around – just don’t crawl into bed with us unless we ask you to, ok?” Tony said.

Bucky’s face went an even deeper shade of red; Steve’s face went red too.

“Is now _really_ the time to talk about that?” Steve grumbled.

“I have no idea what’s going on here,” Bucky grumbled, rubbing his nose. He looked away, gnawing on his lower lip.

Tony chuckled at the sight. “We’ll fill you in one day,” he promised. He ate another bite of chicken and let out a satisfied sigh, one that made Steve’s eyes widen. “This really is good. Did you always know how to cook, or is this something new?”

“I think I did,” Bucky said, staring down into his plate. His brow furrowed. “I don’t remember a lot of what happened back then, but I remember cooking.”

“What do you remember?” Steve asked, his voice soft and hesitant. “If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

Bucky hummed softly. He ran his fingers through Mabel’s hair and let her lick at the chunk of chicken still stuck on the tines of his fork. “I get flashes of stuff sometimes – bits of things from when we were younger,” he said. “Sometimes the flashes are bigger than others. It started a while back.”

“I’m guessing those flashes happened more after the wedding, right?” Tony said through a mouthful of food.

Bucky nodded sharply. He shifted in his chair, his movements jerky as if he couldn’t quite control his body. He settled against the table and let out a slow breath. “I remember Rumlow,” he said, his voice so soft Tony could barely hear it. “I wish I didn’t.”

“Rumlow needs to be flung into the sun,” Tony growled. If SHIELD let him, he would build the machine to do that himself.

“The Red Room had me at first – before Hydra. They made me what I am, but they didn’t last – they couldn’t,” Bucky murmured. “I get flashes of their training rooms.”

Tony frowned. He had known about the Red Room’s involvement with Bucky’s life, but he hadn’t realized that Bucky hadn’t left it of his own free will. “I thought Hydra hired you back then,” he said, slowly.

“They didn’t need to hire me. I didn’t get paid,” Bucky said. He let out a harsh bark of a laugh. “When the Red Room went down, everything was sold off piecemeal. Their _assets_ were expendable.”

Tony shuddered. _Asset_. That was what Rumlow had called Bucky. So it was true – Bucky had been an Asset after all.

“They sold me off,” Bucky said. He rested his chin on his clasped hands, his elbows propped up on the table. “I was a real steal, from what I remember. The jerks who sold me got a few hundred grand for me and my tube.”

“Your tube?” Steve said, frowning.

“They called it a Cryo-tube,” Bucky said. “I don’t know what the technical term was – or if it even had one. They didn’t tell me shit, but I caught phrases sometimes – most of it I can’t remember anymore, but I know what it looked like – what it felt like to be stuck in that fucking _thing_.” He gritted his teeth. “I remember more about Hydra than the Red Room. The guy who ran the joint for Hydra was a real smooth talker. He had all his little flunkies running around, eating out of the palm of his hand no matter how much bullshit he was feeding them. I see his face every time I fall asleep. He’s the one who sent me out most of the time. I wish I knew his name so I could hunt him down and put a bullet in his fucking head.”

“Do you think you could recognize him if we found pictures?” Steve asked, leaning forwards.

“I don’t know,” Bucky sighed. “I’d like to think I could. He was just a guy with blonde hair and blue eyes, you know – and I was just an Asset. I did what I was told.”

“They must have had something strong to keep you under their power,” Tony said. He set his fork down with reluctance.

Bucky smiled thinly. “I remember the Chair,” he said. A shiver wracked his body; he cracked his neck and let his hands drop to his lap. “They used to make me sit in it when I started thinking for myself too much – when I started misbehaving, they called it.” He rolled his shoulders in a slow circle, biting his teeth into his lip until it was bloody. He flinched when Steve touched him and touched his lip, staring at the blood on his fingers with a frown as though unsure how it had gotten there. “The Chair made everything go away. I don’t remember where they got it – if it was from the Red Room or not,” Bucky said. He let out a frustrated hiss and slammed his flesh-and-blood fist into the table, making the plates dance. “I just remember that I would do anything – fucking _anything_ – to get away from it. Even the cold wasn’t so bad – even that fucking _tube_ wasn’t bad compared to that _Chair_. Every mission I saw it at least once – or at least that’s what Rumlow used to say. He used to be around a lot – he makes my skin crawl, and I don’t know why.”

“Do you remember seeing him around when you were deployed the last time?” Tony asked, drumming his fingers on his chin. He knew that Natasha and the others had asked Bucky that question a hundred different ways when they were interrogating him so many months ago, but there was always a chance that something new might have popped up now that some time had passed. Bucky had said he was remembering things; this might be one of them. If they could tie Rumlow to the Skull’s plans, they might be able to break him and get more information out of him.

Bucky shuddered and stood up, kicking his chair away. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” he said.

Tony jumped up, moving around the table to grab Bucky by the wrist before he could dart way.

Bucky’s eyes looked haunted. The blood on his lips was red, too red, against his pale skin; he looked as if he had seen a monster, and Tony supposed that he had.

Shit.

He shouldn’t have pushed Bucky so hard so soon – he should have waited, and let Bucky tell them on his own. Goddamn it!

Bucky let out a shaky breath. “You shouldn’t touch me like that,” he said, his voice raw and broken. “I could hurt you like last time. _He_ might come back – the Winter Soldier might come back.”

“If he comes back we’ll deal with him,” Steve promised. “You won’t hurt Tony. I won’t let you.”

“You wouldn’t have a choice,” Bucky hissed. “Christ – why am I even here? This was a bad idea – I shouldn’t be around you two. I’m a monster.”

“You’re not a monster,” Tony said. “It wasn’t your fault – they made you do that stuff. You didn’t choose to do it, Bucky. The Winter Soldier isn’t you.”

“But what if he is?” Bucky whispered.

“If he is, we’ll deal with it together just like Steve said,” Tony said, softly. He rubbed his thumb over Bucky’s wrist, trying to sooth him; he could feel Bucky quaking under his touch, and he wished he could make Rumlow suffer for it.

“I hate that chair,” Bucky wheezed. He hung his head. “I want it gone – I want to crush it with my own hands.”

“We can make that happen one day,” Steve said, standing up. He settled his hand gently on Bucky’s shoulder and began rubbing slow, soft, circles. “It’s ok, Buck. It’s ok.”

Bucky let out a harsh sob and dropped to his knees. Tony and Steve kneeled down beside him.

“I see Rumlow’s _face_ in the dark sometimes, you know?” Bucky said. “He won’t go away – he won’t. Him and that fucking _chair_ , they always come back.”

“Rumlow’s locked up, Buck,” Steve said, his voice calm. “He’s not going anywhere. He can’t hurt you anymore. I’ll kill him if he so much as _blinks_ funny at you.”

Bucky pulled his hand free from Tony’s grasp. “I know– I just – I keep seeing that fucking _smirk_. I keep getting flashes of the shit he did to me. I can _feel_ him sometimes when I’m awake, and it’s driving me up the wall. I keep smelling that _puke_ cologne he wears on my clothes and in my hair and I can’t get it _off_. Sometimes it feels like he’s got his hands on my fucking back again – on the back of my neck – on my – my – Christ – why am I telling you this shit?” he laughed bitterly. “Why do I have to remember _him_ and not the good stuff – why _him_ and that fucking prick who gave us orders?”

Tony wrapped his arms around Bucky’s shoulder and reeled him in; Steve mirrored the move, hugging Bucky from there other side until Bucky was wrapped in their arms. Bucky shuddered, leaning against them.

“I don’t want to remember this stuff,” Bucky murmured. “Can’t you make it go away? I changed my mind – put me back in the Chair. I want this gone – I want him _gone_. I want them both gone.”

Tony’s heart felt like it was being crushed. He squeezed Bucky a little tighter, knowing that there was nothing he could do but listen.

 

They helped Bucky up onto the couch and wrapped him a blanket, flanking him on either side. Huddled together, they spent the night curled up with Mabel making the rounds around their shoulders and laps, watching cartoons with the volume turned down low. Bucky’s sobs evened out eventually; he slumped against Steve, his chin resting on his shoulder, and fell into a light doze. Tony hoped his dreams were better this time – that they were free of Rumlow’s taint. He eyed Steve over Bucky’s shoulder. They couldn’t let Bucky head off anywhere in this state; it wouldn’t be safe. Steve stroked Bucky’s hair in slow, even strokes.

“You can give me my keys back,” Bucky croaked when he woke, opening one bloodshot eye.

“I have absolutely no idea where they are,” Tony said, leaning against Bucky’s shoulder. “Maybe I’ll find them in a few days – maybe not. Shit happens. I might have left them at the Tower or something.”

Bucky sniffled faintly. “I’m not your problem,” he said, looking down at his hands.

“You’re not a _problem_ at all,” Tony said, pulling the blankets tighter.

Bucky sniffled and closed his eye. “You’re going to regret this,” he murmured.

“No we won’t,” Steve said. He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Bucky’s head. “I promise, we won’t.”

Bucky leaned into the touch. “Are you sure?”

“We’re _definitely_ sure,” Tony said, flattening down Bucky’s hair. He closed his eyes and leaned back into the couch, already planning how to take the rest of Hydra down as painfully as possible. They would pay for what they had done – he was going to make them suffer, and he knew Steve would do the same. Rumlow was going to get his; it was only a matter of time now. That bastard wasn’t going to find any friends in SHIELD – not after this. He turned his head, pressed a kiss to Bucky’s hair. He fell asleep watching Steve smile at him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you spot anything funky and I'll get it fixed! I hope you enjoyed it and that I didn't traumatize anyone with the ending!  
> There will be another fic in this series - eventually ; ) Thanks to Saral_Hylor for letting me bounce ideas off of her and for helping me get the ending the way I wanted it :P I owe you one! And thanks to everyone who read this! I know some of the updates too a long time to get posted!

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be updating this Monday nights : ) It should be three chapters long, but we'll see what happens! - edit - and it's turned into five chapters. Yay for my inability to figure out how many I'll need to finish xD


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